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XHK RISK 

AND 

VICISSITUDES 

OF THE 

UNITED STATES 



WITH PORTRAITS 

OF 

FORTY AMERICAN 
STATESMEN 




A Brief Dissertation 



ON 



i[ ls[ le hissiiUNS Of ii[ lii[i) hs 



WITH 



Portraits of Forty American Statesmen, 



WHOSE LIVES ILLUME 



Four Epochs of American History, 



NAMELY 



1761 to 1789 : 1789 to 1824 : 1824 to 1861 : 1861 to 



BY 

JAS. A. Mccormick, 

SYRACUSE, N. Y. 






TH£L.BRA«YOF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Receiveo 

JUN 20 1903 

Copyngnt bini> 

C\.hSWCU XXc. No. 

COPY B. 



Copyright lt)03 
By Jas. a. McCormick. 






u 



"(vV^-^ 




Abraham Lincoln. 



THIS little book, together with the four pictures of "American 
Statesmen," which it is intended to elucidate, are dedicated to 
the Hon. Theodore E. Hancock, of Syracuse, N. Y., formerly Attorney 
General of the State of New York, who, among the friends I have, 
" and their adoption tried, " is the best. — ^J. A. McC. 



INTRODUCTION. 



♦ff N a survey of history it is diflBcult to find a parallel or precedent for 
" the Rise and Progress of the United States of America. According 
to legend Rome was founded by descendants of ^neas who, fleeing 
from Grecian rapine and the destruction of Troj', established themselves 
upon the rock-ribbed hills along the Tiber's banks. Within the walls 
erected by Romulus and Remus the victims of oppression and tyrann}' 
were welcomed, protected and invested with citizenship. Their power 
increased with numbers, and in course of time their legions were sent 
to less progressive nations to instruct them in their arts and sciences, 
their literature and laws. The history of the civilized world for quite 
two centuries is the natural and logical amplification of the character- 
istics of those Trojan exiles. So, in a measure, it may be said the 
United States had its beginning. A band of refugees from Europe, 
seeking that freedom of religious thought and word which was denied 
them in their native country, settled in the wilderness of an unknown 
land, inhabited by savage beasts and still more savage men. They 
brought with them a social compact of democratic government, which 
was mutually agreed to and subscribed in the cabin of the Mayflower, 
while she was rocking upon the bosom of the Atlantic, along New 
England's shore. The settlement thus fixed was fraught with weal or 
woe to all mankind. The principles of government then and there 
established have been preserved and propagated by countless offshoots 
of the storied pilgrim stock, and as well by those whom they beaconed 
and welcomed hither from beneath the rule and tyranny of old 
world kings and privileged classes. Here the alien stranger was invit- 
ed, welcomed, and invested with a robe of citizenship, compared with 
which that conferred by Rome, in its most glorious days, is insignificant 
and trivial. 

It is not necessary to the purposes here in hand to do more than 
merely allude to the history of the thirteen colonies from their settle- 
ment down to the time when the so-called mother country, through its 
King and Parliament, attempted to extend and exercise an unwarrant- 
able jurisdiction over them. But it is assumed that from that time — 
say 1761 — a few words may not be out of place, with regard to the rise 
and vicissitudes of the United States, and the statesmen who made its 
history. 



The Rise and Vicissitudes of the 
United States. 

"A nation is to be congratulated when it has many illustrious men in 
its history, to whom the people may look back with reverential love. 
Happy the people possessing among their dead a Washington and a Lin- 
coln ! Each such name helps to hold the passing generations with all 
their new problems and revolutionary impulses, in allegiance to the 
ideals of the past. One must believe that Westminster Abbey is a per- 
petual incentive to true patriotism ; that beneath the constant influence 
of its noble monuments demagogues could not flourish. As one walks 
beneath those arches and reads the records of heroes who have died in 
various climes for England and mankind, of the statesmen and authors 
who have for so many centuries been making the English language and 
ideas the most precious literary heritage of the world, one gets a pro- 
found impression of the solidity of English institutions, a firm confi- 
dence that widespread, deeply penetrating roots will keep the English 
oak green for centuries to come." — Franklin Carter. 

The struggle of the people of the colonies for Independencb 
may be said to have commenced in 1761, when James Otis re- 
signed the highly honorable and lucrative ofl&ce of advocate for the 
crown in the Colony of Massachusetts, in order to be untrammelled in 
defending the people against the Act of the British Parliament, by 
which sheriflfs and and other officials of administration, armed with so- 
called Writs of Assistance, were authorized to forcibly enter and 
ransack private residences and stores for goods, on the mere suspicion 
that duties — taxes — had not been paid thereon. This cause came on 
to be heard, upon the petition of a number of merchants, at Boston, in 
February, 1761. No verbatim report of the argument made by Otis 
has come down to us, but John Adams, afterwards President of the 
United States, was present on that occasion and has left on record his 
impressions of the same and his predictions of the effect of that argu- 
ment upon the future of the colonies. He says : " Otis was a flame of 
fire ; with a promptitude of classical allusion, a depth of research, a 
rapid summary of historical events and dates, a profusion of legal 
authorities, a prophetic glance of his eyes into futurity, and a rapid 
torrent of impetuous eloquence, he hurried away all before him. Amer- 
ican Independence was then and there born. The seeds of patriots 
and heroes, to defend the Non sine diis animosus in/ans, — to defend 



the vigorous growth, were then and there sown. Every man of an im- 
mense crowded audience appeared to me to go away, as I did, ready to 
take arms against Writs of Assistance. Then and there was the 
first scene of the first act of opposition to the arbitrary claims of Great 
Britain. Theri ayid there the child. Independence, was born. In fifteen 
years, i. e. in 1776, he grew up to manhood and declared himself free. " 

From the year in which James Otis made this justly celebrated his- 
torical argument to that in which William McKinley, President, gave 
his life in martyrdom, is a period of one hundred and forty years. Dur- 
ing that time what marvelous changes — economical, social, industrial 
and international — have taken place within the territory which now con- 
stitutes the Union ? Volumes would be required in which to unfold the 
story in any adequate manner. Let a brief outline sufiice. The 
national domain, as defined in the treaty of peace with England in 
1783, has been increased fourfold, by honorable purchase and peaceable 
annexation of contiguous territory ; while, by the same means, we 
have acquired extensive possessions in the Arctic circle, and in either 
ocean that washes our shores, so that the sun illumes the radiance and 
power of the national flag during every hour of the day. From three 
millions of people, sparsely scattered along the Atlantic coast in 1776, 
we have grown to more than seventy-five millions. A purely agricul- 
tural people in 1776, are become in 1901 the greatest manufacturing na- 
tion on earth. Our natural resources — raw materials, the basis of 
every industry — are unlimited. Our railroads connect the great lakes 
on the north with the great gulf on the south, and bind the Atlantic to the 
Pacific, giving employment and support to millions of people. Our do- 
mestic commerce is not equalled b}-^ any other two nations ; yet our 
manufacturers, builders and merchants, are strenuously competing with 
the world for supremacy in foreign trade and in foreign ports. The 
national treasury overflows in ready money ; the national credit is be- 
yond compare. It is simply impossible to describe by words or pen the 
variety, richness, beauty and sublimity which the Creator of the uni- 
verse has impressed upon our country. Its mountains, valleys, plains 
— even its deserts — its lakes, rivers, waterfalls, waterworn canyons 
and national parks are among the most magnificent on the globe — 
" O Lord, how great are Thy works ? " 

The people of this favored land walk hand in hand with Liberty 
and Law. The palladium of their liberty is enshrined and guarded in 
the public school, where the children of rich and poor are taught on 
equal terms. From the beginning the progress of the nation has been 

6 



steadily forward and upward ; although in the first one hundred years 
the nation waged five successful wars with foreign states, and then put 
down the fiercest, bloodiest, greatest civil war in history ; and at the 
same time extirpated the cause of it — the atrocious monster, Slavery. 
But with the ending of rebellion, with the forgiveness of sins committed 
by the conspirators, their aiders and abettors in that internecine strife, 
with the completion of the work of reconstruction of the Union up- 
on the principles solemnly denounced in the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, came not harmony between the sections. North and South. Like 
the Wars of the Roses, the conflict entailed much of bitterness — if not 
of hatred — and sullen resentment, though time was slowly drying the 
tears of grief and obliterating the scars of battles on both sides. The 
sorrowful melody of the "The Conquered Banner" did not chime with 
the requiem of " The Blue and the Gray" for a generation after the events 
that inspired them. Even when during President Cleveland's first 
term, some twenty odd years after Appomatox, a tentative attempt was 
made to promote harmony and good feeling between the sections by the 
well meant order to restore the captured confederate flags to the surviv- 
ors of the regiments that followed them upon the battlefields of the 
South, a storm of wrath and denunciation broke forth with the fury of 
a tornado. But when the nation, in a righteous cause, grappled with 
an insolent, malignant and treacherous foe, and the nation 's chieftain 
called to arms, — the South and North — the blue and gray, together 
with their sons, struck hands as did their sires at Bunker Hill and 
Yorktown, marched forth and conquered Spain ; and returning home, 
brought Concord, the priceless trophy, to grace their victory and be- 
deck their triumph. In the words of President McKinley, in 1898 : 
"Sectional lines no longer mar the map of the United States ; sectional 
feeling no longer holds back the love we bear each other. Fraternity is 
the national anthem, sung by a chorus of forty-five states, and our terri- 
tories at home and beyond the seas. The Union is once more the com- 
mon altar of our love and loyalty, our devotion and sacrifice. The old 
flag again waves over us in peace, and new glories which your sons and 
ours have this day added to its sacred fold. * * * What a glorious 
future awaits us if unitedly, wisely and bravely we face the new problems 
now pressing upon us, determined to solve them for right and human- 
ity j * * * Reunited ! one country again and forever ! Proclaim it 
from the press and pulpit ! Teach it in the schools ! Write it across 
the skies." 



And so under McKinley's beneficent administration the people of 
the sections, North and South, as well as East and West, became more 
firmly united than ever before, while at the same time the results of the 
war with Spain — though that power was contemptibly insignificant — 
convinced the world at large that this nation has the credentials which 
entitle it to respectful consideration, if not deference, in business of in- 
ternational concern. 

Truly, the child, Independence, that was born into the arms of 
James Otis in 1761 — that disinthralled himself in 1776, that was stunted, 
weak and sickly with the infirmities of Confederation, the scorn and 
jest of the proud rulers of nations in 1789 — grew, because of inherent vi- 
tality, waxed strong, gained wisdom and became a giant among the pow- 
ers of the earth, the marvel of history, in 1901. In this comparison one 
must needs recall the parable of the mustard seed ' ' which a man took 
and sowed in his field : which, indeed, is the smallest of seeds : but 
when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, 
so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof" 
And, again, when we reflect that the few refugees that established set- 
tlements along the Atlantic coast, at Jamestown, Plymouth and New 
York, nigh three hundred years ago, have mingled their blood with mil- 
lions trom European states, who, like the builders of the Tower of 
Babel, spake in strange and diverse tongue ; taught all to speak a com- 
mon language ; infused into them their sentiments of religion, their 
principles of liberty, of law and of government, so as to mold all into a 
composite, yet distinct homogeneous race and citizenship — into a body 
politic, in which all are equal at the foot of the throne, whereon sits 
Law, their king, above them all — we bring to mind that other parable 
from lips divine. It is " Like unto leven which a woman took and hid 
in three bushels of meal till the whole was levened. " 

The greatness and power of our country have evolved from the few 
seeds of settlements which took root in Virginia, Massachusetts and 
New York. And there were those who, seeing the beauty and strength 
of the sapling, predicted the graceful, healthy, sturdy trunk, with its 
wide spread limbs and deeply penetrating roots. As was revealed to 
the good Irish Bishop, Berkle}', long before independence of Great 
Britain was dreamt of, and sung by him : 

"The Muse, disgusted at an age and clime 

Barren of every glorious theme, 
In distant lands now waits a better time, 

Producing subjects worthy fame. 

8 



Westward the course of empire takes its way ; 

The first four acts already past, 
A fifth shall close the drama with the day ; 

Time's noblest offspring: is the last." 

And as when John Adams was yet under the age of twenty, namelj 
in 1755, wrote these remarkable words to a former college friend : 

" Eng-land beg-an to increase in power and mag-nificence, and 
is now the greatest nation of the globe. Soon after the Reforma- 
tion a few people came over into this new world for conscience 
sake. Perhaps this apparently trivial incident may transfer the 
great seat of empire to America. It looks likely to me. Our people, 
according- to the exactest computation, will, in another century, 
become more numerous than England itself Should this be the 
case, since we have I may say, all the naval stores of the nations 
in our hands, it will be easy to obtain the mastery of the seas; 
and then the united force of all Europe will not be able to subdue 
us. The only way to keep us from setting^ up for ourselves is to 
disunite us. Divide et impera. Keep us in distinct colonies, and 
then, some great men in each colony desiring the monarchy of 
the whole, they will destroy each other's influence, and keep the 
country in equilibrio." 

One more instance out of many, that might be cited, may be borne 
with in virtue of the prescience which it displays: When in 1783 the 
independence of the United States was acknowledged in the Treaty of 
Peace between England, France, Spain and the United States, Count 
D'Aranda, who represented the King of Spain in that business, wrote a 
memoir thereof to his royal master, in which he made this prediction in 
reference to the new nation : 

"I will not stop here to examine the opinions of some of our 
statesmen, our own countrymen as well as foreigners, which I 
share, on the difficulty of preserving our power in America. * * * 
Without entering into any of these considerations, I shall confine 
myself now to that which occupies us from the dread of seeing 
ourselves exposed to dangers from the neiu power which we have 
just recognized, in a country where there is no other in condition 
to arrest its progress. This Federal Republic is born a pigmy y so to 
speak. It required the support and the forces of two powers as 
great as Spain and France in order to attain independence. A 
day will come when it will be a giant, even a Collossus, formidable in 
these countries. It will then forget the benefits which it has re- 
ceived from these two powers, and will dream of nothing but to or- 
ganize itself Liberty of conscience, the facility for establishing 
a new population on immense lands, as well as the advantage of 

9 



the new government, will draw thither agriculturists and artisans 
from all the nations, for nien always run after fortune. * * * 
The first movement of this Power, when it has arrived at its ag- 
grandizement, will be to obtain possession of the Floridas, in or- 
der to dominate the Gulf of Mexico. After having rendered com- 
merce with new Spain difficult for us. it will aspire to the conquest 
of this vast empire, which it will not be possible for us to defend 
against a formidable power established on the same continent, 
and in its neighborhood. * * * Your majesty must relieve 
yourself of all your possessions on the continent of the two Amer- 
icas, preserving only the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico. 

It is worthy of special note that when those words were first writ- 
ten, Spain owned and ruled the major portion of the American contin- 
ents, and that within one hundred and fifteen years thereafter she lost 
her last possessions in the Western hemisphere — Cuba and Porto Rico 
— in armed conflict with the power at whose baptism and birth she 
was sponsor. 



AMERICAN STATESMEN. 

When Lafayette was about to depart for his native land at the close 
of the Revolution, to whose success he had so ably contributed, he was 
waited on by a committee from Congress, who desired him to carry to 
the King of France a letter in. which Congress expressed their apprecia- 
tion and gratitude for the aid which that country had given to the 
cause of American liberty. In accepting this commission Lafayette 
said, in part: " May this Immense Temple of Freedom ever stand, 
a lesson to oppressors, an example to the oppressed, a sanctuary for the 
rights of mankind ! And may these happy United States attain that 
complete splendor and prosperity which will illustrate the blessings of 
this government, and for ages to come rejoice the departed souls of its 
founders ! " These Founders of the republic have all long since min- 
gled their mortal bodies with the soil they loved so well, and for which 
they staked their lives and fortunes and pledged their sacred honor. 
Their names are, and forever shall be, entitled to be first upon the roll 
of statesmen deserving of sovereign honor, like Romulus, Cyrus, Alex- 
ander, Caesar and Charlemagne. But the ranks of their successors, 
the law-givers, are, like Caesar's famous legion, kept full in force and 
eflSciency. These were and are the Second Founders of the republic, 
because they govern, and shall continue to govern, by their wisdom, in 
statute law and precept. These take their rightful place upon the roll 

10 



of fame with Moses, Lycurgus and Solon. And among these second 
founders were those vj\io preserved the republic amid the dangers of civil 
strife and foreign wars, as well as those who extended and enlarged the 
territorial boundaries thereof by wise, farseeing, and timely legislation. 
The period in which these four classes did the work with which, their 
fame is linked may be divided into four distinct epochs : First, from - 
1761 to 1789; second, 1789 to 1824; third, 1824 to 1861, and fourth, 
1861 to 1901. And these epochs may be distinguished by leading 
events, specified in the first epoch as Agitation, which resulted in the 
organization of patriotic associations' — such as Committees of Safety 
and of Correspondence, "Minute Men." "Sons of Liberty," and the 
like — all resolved, finally, upon Independence ; and the experiment of 
federal government under a Confederation. The events of the second 
epoch were: the adoption of the federal Constitution, by which a more 
perfect Union was established ; and the Construction, by the courts, 
of the powers expressed and implied in that instrument or charter of 
the people. The events of the third epoch — the stormy spell of Domes- 
tic politics — in reference to Finance, The Tariff and Slavery — 
which, from the beginning, was a running sore, threatening the na- 
tion's life. The events of the fourth epoch were the Rebellion, or — 
(in milder terms) the attempt to disrupt and destroy the Union ; the 
Reconstruction of the States, lately in secession mood, upon the 
basis of freedom for the black man; and, finally, the healing of the 
wounds of war in Concord and fraternity. 

Now the history of these epochs and events is contained in the lives 
and works of American Statesmen, who, in connected, related and suc- 
cessive generations, lived in them and solved the eventful problems 
thereof as they arose ; and who are still ready and able to meet every 
emergency in the Nation's progress. That all were able men is evident 
from the fact that they were chosen as representatives by and for their 
fellow citizens. Some there were to whom came timely Opportunity 
to win and hold the people's praise and gratitude. Some neglected to 
clasp her as she was passing, and so failed to enhance their fame and 
reputations; as was the case, for instance, of Richard Henry Lee, a bril- 
liant writer of eloquent state papers, who, as mover of the resolutions 
concerning independence in the Congress of 1776, was entitled, by par- 
liamentary usage and custom, and because of his well known 
literary qualifications, to be named as chairman of the committee for 
drafting the Declaration, and as such should have been selected by his 
colleagues to draft that document. But at this important crisis he 

11 



asked for leave of absence, on account of sickness in his family, and 
went to his home in Virginia ; and so it came to pass that a granite 
shaft at Monticello contains these words, commemorative of Thomas 
Jeflferson : 

"Author of the Declaration of Independence." 
But, as in every group or chain of lofty mountains there are some 
whose snowy summits pierce the sky ; and, seen from the distance tow- 
ering above their fellows, glistening in the noon-day sun, are known as 
landmarks by which the traveler learns his bearings and marks his 
courses ; so it is with regard to the relative and comparative reputation, 
ability, and fame of American Statesmen. All — all from the begin- 
ning — were broadminded, broadbased in understanding; intellectu- 
ally able, lofty in conception and sublime in the execution of theories 
of government. All were devoted to the service of their country, and 
to the upholding of its honor ; and as they recede into the perspective 
of the past, the qualities, the characteristics, the abilities and fame of 
some, as compared with their co-temporaries in the same epoch and 
events, seem to rise and broaden to the view ; and an observant student 
marks them as guides in his search and travel through American his- 
tory. Hence it is that, with much labor and careful discrimination in 
the choice of a representative number — which, of necessity, is limited 
and select — these guiding men of their day and generation are assem- 
bled — or, rather, their likenesses are grouped — in the Portico of 
"This Immense Temple of Freedom." With a single notable ex- 
ception, all of these selected have, at this writing, gone to their eternal 
reward. In thus offering their portraits for patriotic consideration, the 
hope is indulged that "Young America" especially, and older Americans 
generally, by coming into frequent visual contact and intercourse with 
them, so to speak, may learn to know these great men as familiar, val- 
ued, nay, household friends, and reverentially keep their fame and memory 
green and fruitful; that thereby an interest may be awakened, and a desire 
stimulated, in American citizens everywhere and always to read the 
annals of their times, and the story of their illustrious lives ; to study 
their works — speeches, orations, writings and laws, to the end that 
their great and useful public services, and their eloquence of patriotism, 
may sink deep in the American heart, and have increased and ever in- 
creasing influence throughout the world for all time to come ! Why, if 
" Plutarch's Lives of Eminent Greeks and Romans" has shaped the 
careers of soldiers, orators and statesmen during ages past, and is still 
read with pleasure and profit, not by the antiquarian alone, with what 

12 



more reason and necessity should be read and re-read the story of Em- 
inent Americans — especially "American Statesmen" — that /A^zr ex- 
emplary, model public lives may be emulated by patriotic lovers not 
only of our glorious past but of the ever vigorous present, pregnant, as 
it is, with events which must, by the law of causation, affect our pos- 
terity for good or ill accordingly as we shape those events by adherence 
to or departure from the principles and precepts of the famous founders 
and fathers .'' For it has been very wisely said : "The most substantial 
glory of a country is in its virtuous great men ; its prosperity will de- 
pend on its docility to learn from their example. That nation is fated 
to ignominy and servitude for which such men have lived in vain. " 

It is scarcely necessary to state that no suggestion of politics, nor 
purpose of partisanship, is entertained in this design of "American 
Statesmen." As political parties are aligned in these days — the com- 
mencement of the twentieth century — it would seem that there is no 
republican who cannot accept the principles of democracy, enunciated 
by Thomas Jefferson in his first inaugural address, as fundamental in 
our form of government ; nor any democrat who cannot endorse the gen- 
eral policy of the party that elected Abraham Lincoln in i860 and 1864, 
and William McKinley in 1896 and 1900 ; for, that which Jefferson traced 
with his pen upon perishable parchment was carved in durable rock by 
Lincoln, while the thunder of artillery was crashing from the hills of Get- 
tysburgh. The doctrine of James Monroe was still strong and efficient 
at three score years and ten in Grover Cleveland's keeping ; and, in the 
exchange of international courtesies, it has ever since been constrtied 
in the Potential Mode by his successors. American Statesmen, from 
first to last, were devotedly attached to party ; yet loved they more 
the Honor and Glory of the soil which gave them birth and sustenance. 

A few words by way of explanation — which is hardly necessary — 
of the design of the frame within which these Portraits are grouped. 
This represents the facade of a portico, in the Tuscan order of architecture 
— plain, strong and majestic — which best comports with the strength, 
simplicity and majesty of our "Immense Temple of Freedom." The 
foundation is composed of the thirteen original colonies or states, show- 
ing dates of settlement — Massachusetts in the middle, with New York 
and Virginia on either side, as in keeping with the facts that the War 
for Independence began at Lexington, was decided at Saratoga and end- 
ed at Yorktown. The Pedestals are inscribed "Declaration of In- 
dependence "and "Articles of Confederation " in the first group; 

13 



but in the others the articles give place to "Constitution of the 
United States. " The Columns bear the names of the states admitted 
to the Union, and the year of their admission. The Pediment shows 
the title "American Statesmen," the epoch in which they were ac- 
tive, and the legend, or motto, of events that concerned them. Liber- 
ty and Law, cardinal and associated ideas in our national life, are 
placed above the columns. The cornucopia, or horn of plenty, is a 
symbol of strength, as well as of wealth and resources. The flag group, 
representing the flag raised by Washington on taking command of the 
continental forces at Cambridge (stripes and bars) and the flag ordered 
by Congress in 1777, (stripes and stars in a circle) and showing the 
stars in token of the new states added to the Union during the several 
epochs, beginning with 1789. The laurel wreaths and palm branches 
as signifying merit and success in and to those whose portraits are 
grouped below. Finally, a draft is made upon classical mythology for 
a representation of Clio, Muse of History, and Minerva, Goddess of 
wisdom and patroness of the wise, the good and great. 

In the arrangement of the portraits in these four groups an en- 
deavor was made to have all sections of the nation, if not all the origin- 
al states, represented by some illustrious son or sons therein born or 
adopted. If it be objected that Massachusetts, Virginia and New York 
have a majority, it is urged that the influence of those states, in the 
order mentioned, is believed to have been paramount and predominant 
in our national history so far. 

The first group begins with James Otis, associated with Patrick 
Henry, the Pioneers of Agitation, followed by Samuel Adams, the Father 
of the Revolution, which was financiered by Elbridge Gerry and Robert 
Morris; John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, and first 
signer of the Declaration of Independence ; John Adams, one of the 
ablest men in that body ; Jefferson, the author of that instrument ; 
Franklin, the diplomat par excellence of the revolution ; and ends with 
Charles Carroll, the last survivor of the fifty-six immortals that signed 
the same. 

The second group begins with Washington, President of the Con- 
vention that framed the Constitution, and first President under its 
provisions, followed by Hamilton, Madison, Jay (first Chief Justice of 
the United States), who were the authors of the Federalist, and John 
Marshall, the great Chief Justice. The lower row in this group begins 
with Robert R. Livingston and ends with James Monroe — the author 

14 



of the Monroe Doctrine — who were the Commissioners that negotiated 
" the purchase " from France of the Lousiana Territory, in commemora- 
tion of which a Centennial Fair is to be held in St. Louis in 1904. Be- 
tween these two are the orators and statesmen, Gouveneur Morris and 
Fisher Ames, and Albert Gallatin, national financier and promoter of 
plans for developing the nation's natural resources. 

The third group begins with John Quincy Adams, who was chosen 
President at a time when political party passions ran low, and ends 
with Douglas, whose debate with Lincoln roused such passions to the 
highest tension. Between Adams and Douglas are the warrior states- 
man and extreme partisan, Jackson, and the intellectual giants of that 
epoch, Webster, Calhoun, Clay, Benton, Randolph and Lewis Cass 
(whose public services during fifty-six years were fruitful in the devel- 
opment of the Northwest territory from which sprung Michigan, Wis- 
consin, etc.). It was during President Polk's administration that our 
boundaries were enlarged by annexations from Mexico. 

The fourth group begins with Lincoln, as the preceding one ended 
with his rival, Douglas. Here we have the great Secretary of State, 
Seward; Sumner; Alexander H. Stephens, as a representative of confed- 
erated secession, here, as suitable to the idea of concord ; and Presi- 
dent Grant, who, as Lincoln's sword arm, crushed the rebellion; Gar- 
field, Blaine, Cleveland, Sherman. This group and epoch began with 
Lincoln struggling against sectional Discord, and ends with McKin- 
ley serenely contemplating national Concord. 

The designer has aimed to follow the course of history, through the 
windings, whirlpools and vicissitudes of the Republic's career — from 
Agitation to Independence, and self-government under the defective 
experiment of Confederation ; through the Constitution or more 
perfect Union, and Construction of the powers thereof; in- 
to Domestic Politics, theories of Finance, the trials of 
economic policies, as illustrated in the Tariff, and the vex- 
ations incidental to Slavery ; and from Rebellion to Reconstruc- 
tion and Concord of the sections North and South — a career whose 
springs of action united and mingled in a common course and current, 
which — 

" As some bright river, that, from fall to fall 

In many a maze descending-, bright in all, 

Finds some fair region, where, each labyrinth past, 

In one full lake of light it rests at last." 

16 



But it is not resting in idle stagnation. While from the surface of 
conditions now existing there seems to be no indication of danger to 
our institutions, deep down in the depths there lie hidden some great 
questions which must be brought to the surface and floated, though 
mighty splashing follow. Yet, as in the past there were statesmen 
equal to every critical crisis, so there are statesmen now living, and 
coming in the ensuing generation, who shall grasp and shape events of 
the next epoch in our history ; who will resolve the perplexities of 
capital and labor, of immigration, commerce and transportation, foreign 
policy, and the tremendous problems of government in our possessions 
in the Indies, East and West ; and who will conserve peace and good 
will with all the world by building up a navy in keeping with our 
standing among the powers of the earth. And these statesmen will do 
these things with less of factional or party feeling and acrimony than 
has hitherto sometimes marked our conduct, and with greater intensity 
of purpose and desire to work out the nation's Manifest Destiny. 

The life and career of a nation are like the life and career of a man — 
it has the weaknesses of infancy, the vagaries, whims and aspirations of 
youth, the fixed ambitions and purposes of educated, earnest and stren- 
uous manhood ; old age, decrepitude and death. This nation is now in 
the flush of young manhood, strong and ambitious. It is entering upon 
the stern tasks of its existence with wisdom, matured by experience, and 
with the confidence of youth, the skill and vigor of a trained and valiant 
athlete, eager for the contest. And, perhaps, when those tasks shall 
become accomplished facts, and constitute another epoch in our history, 
someone, succeeding us in the premises, may assemble another group 
of "American Statesmen," who shall have worthily borne a part 
therein ; and that group, in respect to the events of that epoch, may be 
distinguished by the motto of " The Strenuous Life." 

" To the claims of our great men, of every age and time, of every sect 
and party, let us then be faithful. Let history transmit to other genera- 
tions the story of their lives ; let the canvas and the marble perpetuate 
the image of their forms ; let poetry and music breathe forth their names 
in hymns and harmonies ; let the united voice of their countrymen echo 
their praises to the remotest shores, — so that wherever an American foot 
shall tread, or a lover of American liberty be found, there, too, the mem- 
ory of their greatness shall abide, — a beauty and an excellence, the joy of 
all the earth !"— Benjamin F. Bdtler. 



16 



REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT. 

I take this opportunity to declare that, whether under a fee or not (for in such a case as this I despise 
a fee) I will to mv dying day oppose with all the powers and faculties God has given me, all such instru- 
ments of slavery on "the one hand, and villainy on the other, as this Writ of Assistance is. — James Otis. 

I should advise persisting in our struggle for liberty, though it were revealed from Heaven that nine 
hundred and ninety-nine were to perish and only one of a thousand were to survive and retain his liber- 
ty ! One such freeman must possess more virtue and enjoy more happiness than a thousand slaves ; and 
let him propagate his like, and transmit to them what he hath so nobly preserved —Samuel Adams. 

Freedom of religion, freedom of the press and freedom of the person under the protection of the 
Habeas Coj-pus — these are the principles that have guided our steps through an age of revolution and 
reformation. — Thomas Jefferson. 



'■4-^' 



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AMERICAN STATESMEN 1/89 



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(REDUCED FROM 22x24 INCHES.) 



We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their 
Creator, with certain unalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 
That to secure these rights, governmenis are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the 
consent of the governed, that whenever anv form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is 
the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laving its foundation 
on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely toaffect their 
safety and happiness. — Declaration of Independence. 



1761— AGITATION- INDEPENDENCE-CONFEDERATION. -1789 

James Otis, "The Original Agitator." Born at Barnstable, 
Mass., February 5, 1725; killed by lightning, May 28, 1783; gradu- 
ated from Harvard College, 1743 ; admitted to the bar ; was Advocate 
General under the Crown in the colony of Massachusetts, which 
office he resigned in order to appear on behalf of the people 
against the issue of Writs of Assistance, in Boston in 1761. In the 
argument of this cause, as John Adams says, "American inde- 
pendence was then and there born." Otis was soon thereafter 
chosen as a representative of the people in the colonial legis- 
lature, and was re-elected every year during the active portion 
of his life. No American was so frequently mentioned and de- 
nounced or applauded in the British Parliament as Otis. His influence 
as an orator and legislator was such that he was regarded as the fo- 
menter of rebellion and foremost agitator for independence. In 1765 he 
was a delegate from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress, 
held at Albany, N. Y. 

Patrick Henry, "The Orator of Nature. " Born in Hanover coun- 
ty, Virginia, in 1736; died 1799; educated in grammar school kept 
by his father ; at fifteen years of age was clerk in a country store, but 
was a failure in commercial pursuits ; was a devoted reader of history, 
especially that of Greece and Rome, whose orators perhaps excited em- 
ulation in his bosom. At twenty-four was admitted to the bar, and 
three years later he won his first signal triumph in what was known as 
"The Parsons' Case. " In 1765, was elected a member of the House of 
Burgesses, where he established his fame as an orator and debater in 
support of the resolutions against the Stamp Act. It is said that these 
resolutions struck the key note of the struggle for independence. 

In 1775, in the convention of Virginia, he delivered a speech in 
favor of a motion that the " colony be immediately put in a state of de- 
fense. " This was the occasion for his famous " give me liberty or give 
me death. " Was a member of the Continental Congress of 1775, and of 
the convention which framed a constitution for Virginia in 1776. He 
was Governor of the State for three years ; was a member of 
the legislature, and in 1784 was again elected Governor ; was 
elected delegate to the convention for framing the federal con- 
stitution in 1787, but did not attend. In the following year, as a 
member of the State convention, he opposed with all his power the 

17 



adoption of that instrument, but the influence of James Madison pre- 
vailed in its ratification. In 1789 he declined the offer of Washington 
to make him Secretary of State. He also declined the nomination to 
the ofiice of Governor in 1796, and the mission to France offered by 
President Adams in 1797. But two years later he was elected a member 
of the legislature because he desired to oppose in that body what he 
deemed a dangerous tendency of the Virginia resolutions of 1798. His 
death occurring, he did not take his seat. 

Samuel Adams, "The Father of the Revolution," " The Ameri- 
can Cato. " Born in Boston, Mass., September 22, 1722; died October 
3, 1803; graduated from Harvard, 1740, as A. M.; took up mercantile 
pursuits, but his mind seemed fixed upon politics. Opposed the Stamp 
Act and all kinds of schemes of Great Britain to tax the colonies. As 
earl}^ as 1763, in a letter of instructions designed to guide the members 
of the General Assembly from Boston, he denied the right of Parliament 
to tax the colonies against their consent, and, in a circular letter, sug- 
gested a union of all the colonies to oppose British aggressions upon 
their rights — which was perhaps the first public expression of such 
sentiments on this continent. In 1765 was a representative from Bos- 
ton in the General Assembly, and was therein the leader of the opposi- 
tion to the Royal Governor. He originated the system of "Commit- 
tees for Correspondence," by which the sentiment for independence 
was so powerfully influenced. Adams was the special subject of the 
hatred of the Crown and of the Royal Governor because of his fearless 
defense of the rights of the people. He was honored, like Hancock, by 
being excluded from the general pardon for political offenses, being there- 
in styled as " Arch Rebels. " Was a delegate to the first Continental 
Congress and continued an active member of Congress until 1781, and 
was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was on 
almost ever}' important committee of Congress during his connection 
with that body. Retiring from Congress in 1781, he was elected a 
member of the convention to form a constitution for Massachusetts, and 
was of the committee that framed it. He was successively a member 
of the State Senate, the President of the Senate, Lieutenant Governor 
and Governor of the State, to which ofiice he was annually elected, un- 
til the infirmities of age compelled him to retire from active life. 

Elbridge Gerry; born in Marblehead, Mass., July 14, 1744; 
graduated from Harvard College, with degree of A. B., in 1762; en- 

18 



gaged in commercial pursuits and acquired a fortune, while, by intelli- 
gence and integrity, he earned the lasting esteem of his fellow citizens, 
became a popular leader, and was fearless in denouncing his sentiments 
of opposition to the acts of Parliament by which it was sought to tax 
the colonies. Was elected to the general Court of the Province in 1773, 
where he was associated with the celebrated John Adams and others of 
note in patriotic concerns, until the War of the Revolution broke out. 
Was a member of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts when 
the battle of Bunker Hill was fought. In Januay, 1776, was elected a 
delegate to the Continental Congress. Owing to his great knowledge of 
commercial affairs, he was put upon many committees of that body, and 
as such was active and diligent in the discharge of his duties therein, 
rendering the most important services to the cause of liberty. He was 
ardent in the support of Lee's resolution, declaring the independence of 
the colonies, and signed the Declaration of Independence, remaining in 
Congress until 1780. He resigned in order to attend to his private af- 
fairs, which, owing to his oflScial duties, he had been obliged to neglect. 
Re-elected, however, in 1783, he remained until 1785. In all the affairs 
of the government, during his long service in Congress, he was inde- 
fatigable and useful, especially in regard to the government's financial 
operations, in which he was largely associated with Robert Morris. 
Mr. Gerry was a member of the convention of Massachusetts which 
adopted the Federal Constitution and was twice elected and served as 
a member of Congress under it. He was appointed by President John 
Adams as one of the envoys to the Court of France, his colleagues be- 
ing C. C. Pinckney and John Marshall. Upon his return from that 
mission, he was a candidate for Governor of Massachusetts on the Re- 
publican ticket, but was defeated. He was, however, elected Governor 
for the next term. In 1813 he was elected Vice-President of the 
United States, and while in this oflSce, on November 23, 1814, he died 
suddenly. He was buried in the Congressional cemetery, and his grave 
was distinguished by a handsome monument erected by order of Con- 
gress. 

Robert Morris, "The Financier " of the Revolution, was born in 
England, January 1733 ; died May 8, 1806, at Philadelphia. Was thir- 
teen years old when he came to this country, and settled in Philadel- 
phia ; became the leading merchant and importer in that city. Not- 
withstanding great financial losses he joined heartily and induced 
others to join in the non-importation agreements, which became general 

19 



throughout the country after the passage of the Stamp Act and the Tea 
Act. When the fight took place at Lexington between the colonists 
and the British troops, and hope of reconciliation was thereby aban- 
doned, Mr. Morris took a very active part in the cause of liberty. "Was 
elected by the Legislature of Pennsylvania as a delegate to the General 
Congress in 1775, where, in recognition of his business talents, he was 
appointed as one of the "Secret Committee," the duties of which con- 
sisted in managing the financial affairs of the government. In the 
spring of 1776, Congress appointed him special commissioner to negoti- 
ate bills of exchange and to take other measures to procure money for the 
common defense. Was again elected to Congress in July, 1776, and 
signed the Declaration of Independence on the 2d of August following. 
His labors in Congress were incessant and of the utmost utility. When 
the army under Washington had faded away to a few half naked and 
starved militia, during the retreat across New Jersey, at the close of 
1776, Mr. Morris showed his patriotism and confidence in the success of 
the cause by loaning upon his own account, at Washington's request, 
the sum of $10,000.00, by which Washington was enabled to collect and 
pay that gallant band with which he re-crossed the Delaware and won 
victory at Trenton. There are many other instances where he was 
able to procure financial aid upon his own credit, when Congress was 
unable to do so. In 1781, the darkest days of the war, he organized a 
bank in Philadelphia for the issuing of paper money, and thus gave in- 
calculable aid to the cause. In this 3'ear Congress appointed him its 
financial agent — what is now Secretary of the Treasury. It has been 
truly said of him " If it were not demonstrable by ofiicial records, pos- 
terity V70uld hardly be made to believe that the campaign of 1781, 
which resulted in the capture of Cornwallis, and virtually closed the 
Revolutionary war, was sustained wholly upon the credit of an indi- 
vidual merchant, Robert Morris." After peace was restored, Mr. Mor- 
ris served twice in the Legislature of Pennsylvania. Was a delegate to 
the convention that framed the Constitution of the United States, and 
was elected United States Senator from Pennsylvania and took his seat 
in the first meeting of Congress at New York to organize the govern- 
ment under that instrument. Washington offered him the post of Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, but he declined ; whereupon Washington re- 
quested him to name a candidate, and he at once recommended Alexan- 
der Hamilton, who was appointed. 

20 



John Hancock; born near Quincy, Mass., 1737; died October 8, 
1793; graduated from Harvard College at seventeen. At the age of 
twenty-six, came into possession of a fortune from his uncle — said to 
be one of the largest in the province. Relinquishing commercial pur- 
suits soon thereafter, he became active in politics. In 1766, was repre- 
sentative for Boston in the Provincial Assembly, where he had as col- 
leagues such men as James Otis, Samuel and John Adams. He was one 
of the first who proposed and adopted the non-importation measures — 
a system which gradually spread to all the sister colonies. During 
eight years he was recognized as a popular leader ; and drew down up- 
on himself the wrath of offended royalty, He had the unique distinc- 
tion, in company with his compatriot, Samuel Adams, to be denounced 
as "Arch Rebels, " and was excluded from the general pardon offered 
by the Royal Governor. In March, 1774, on the anniversary of the 
"Boston Massacre," he delivered an oration which is classic, denounc- 
ing in the boldest terms the measures of the British government. In 
1774, he was without dissent elected President of the Provincial Con- 
gress of Massachusetts ; and in the same year he was chosen a delegate 
to the Continental Congress, and was re-elected in 1775. This year he 
was elected as President of that body, and as such was the first to sign 
the Declaration of Independence. Owing to ill health he resigned that 
office in 1777. He was a delegate to the convention called to form the 
first constitution of Massachusetts, and, under that instrument, was 
the first governor of that commonwealth — the first who had this dig- 
nity conferred by the voluntary suffrage of the people. For two years 
he declined that honor, but again accepted, and held the office until his 
death. While governor he was chosen president of the convention 
called for the adoption of the Federal Constitution, but sickness pre- 
vented his attendance until the last week of the session. He voted for its 
adoption, and his influence secured a majority. Mr. Hancock, in 1773, 
married a Miss Quincy — a relative of John Adams — by whom he had 
one son, who died in his youth. Mr. Hancock died without heirs of 
his name. 

John Adams; born at Braintree (now Quincy), Mass., October 30, 
1735; died July 4, 1826. Was a lineal descendant from John Alden, 
who came over in the Mayflower. Graduated from Harvard ; was a 
lawyer. From youth he was given to the contemplation of general pol- 
itics ; and before he was twenty-one years of age he predicted the in- 
dependence and greatness of this nation. When the Stamp Act was 

21 



passed in 1765, he raised a whirlwind of opposition to it by his " Essay 
on the Crown and Feudal Law, " and rose high in popular esteem. He 
was active at Boston with John Hancock, James Otis, Samuel Adams 
and others during all the years following. Was repeatedly elected by 
the people to the Executive Council of the province, but Governor Gage 
as often erased his name, whereby his popularity increased. He was 
a delegate to the first Continental Congress, which convened at Phila- 
delphia, September 5, 1774, and was re-elected in 1775. It was his in- 
fluence that made George Washington commander in-chief of the Revo- 
lutionary forces. In May, 1776, Adams introduced a resolution in 
Congress "that the colonies should form governments independent of 
the Crown," and a month later he was foremost in supporting Lee's 
resolution of independence. Was one of the committee to draft the 
Declaration of Independence, and signed the same. In 1777, was sent 
by Congress a special commissioner to the Court of France, to act with 
Benjamin Franklin. Returning home in 1779, he helped to form a con- 
stitution for his native State. While so employed, Congress appointed 
him Minister to Great Britain to negotiate a treaty of peace and com- 
merce. That mission failing, he was made Minister to Holland. The 
confidence of Congress in his abilities was so great that he held at one 
time no less than six commissions abroad, each of a different character. 
In 1 781, he was associated with Franklin, Jay and Laurens as commis- 
sioner to conclude terms of peace with England, and was first to sign 
the Treaty of Peace with that government. In 1785, he was made Min- 
ister of the United States at the Court of Great Britain. He resigned 
this in 1788 and returned home. The Federal Constitution was adopted 
during his absence. He was elected as Vice-President on the ticket 
with Washington, the first President under the new constitution ; and 
was so re-elected in 1792. He was chosen President in 1796, and 
at the end of the term, in 1801, he retired from public life. 
In 1816, was presidential elector on the Democratic ticket. 
In 1824, was president of the convention to revise the constitu- 
tion of Massachusetts, declining on account of age. Mr. Adams was 
married in 1766 to Abigail Smith, by whom he had several children, 
the eldest, John Quincy, becoming President in 1825, whose son, 
Charles Francis Adams, was Minister of the United States at the Court 
of Great Britain during our civil war. Mr. Adams died July 4, 1826 — 
the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and at 
nearly the same hour in which Thomas Jefferson died. His last utter- 

22 



ance was ' ' Independe^ice forever ! ' ' He was the first and last president 
elected as a " Federalist. " 

Thomas Jefferson, "The Sage of Monticello. " Born April 13, 
1743, at Shadwell, Virginia; died July 4, 1826. His ancestors came 
from Wales. From his father he inherited a considerable estate, which 
he called Monticello, which was his life-long residence. He was edu- 
cated at William and Mary College. In 1765, while a student of law, he 
heard Patrick Henry's celebrated speech against the Stamp Act, which 
determined him thenceforward as an avowed champion of freedom. In 
1769. he was elected a member of the Virginia Legislature, and became 
at once a most active and popular leader in that body. He was a mem- 
ber of the Committee of Correspondence — a system established through- 
out the colonies for concerted action against the measures of King and 
Parliament — and was therein very active with his pen. In 1774, he 
published a powerfully written pamphlet entitled " A Summary View 
of the Rights of British America, " which was re-published in England. 
He was elected, in 1775, a delegate from Virginia to the Continental 
Congress, and was therein one of the most efiicient members. In his 
first year's service he soon became distinguished as a man of great tal- 
ents among men of talent from all the colonies ; so that when, in 1776, a 
committee was appointed to draft a declaration of independence, he, as 
one of the same, was chosen by his associates as its chairman — though 
the youngest of all — and, upon the request of all, he drew up that im- 
mortal document substantially as it was unanimously adopted by Con- 
gress, July 4, 1776. During the summer of 1776, he was elected as a 
member of the Virginia Assembly, and withdrew from Congress in or- 
der to fulfill the duties of this new honor. During the remaining years 
of the Revolution, he was in the service of his native State. 1777 to 
1778, he was on a commission to revise the laws of Virginia. To him 
belongs the credit of first proposing in a legislative body a law forbid- 
ding the importation of slaves ; for annulling the English system of pri- 
mogeniture ; for establishing public schools, and for confirming freedom 
in religious opinion. In 1779, he succeeded Patrick Henry as Governor 
or Virginia. In 1781, he wrote his celebrated "Notes on Virginia," 
upon request of M. De Marbois, secretary of the French legation — a 
work which was translated into French, and made him popular in 
Europe. He was elected, in 1783, a member of Congress, and was one 
of the committee to whom was referred the Treaty of Peace with Great 
Britain. On their report the treaty was ratified. In 1784, he wrote 

23 



an essay on the coinage and currency. To him we are indebted for the 
decimal system of our coinage. In May, 1784, he was appointed, with 
John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, minister to negotiate treaties of 
commerce with foreign nations, and on that business reached Paris in 
August of the same year. While thus absent, the Federal Constitution 
was adopted, and Washington had become the first of our presidents. 
Upon a visit home, Washington offered him the office of Secretary of 
State, and he accepted. While in the Cabinet, he boldly avowed his sym- 
pathy with the populace of France in their struggle for republicism ; 
and his difference with Washington in this regard made him the leader 
of republicanism here — a distinction that obtains today, as he is re- 
garded as the founder of the Democratic party. In 1793, he resigned 
his seat as a cabinet officer. In 1796, he was defeated by John Adams 
for the Presidency, but was elected Vice-President. In 1800, he was 
successful for the Presidency against Mr. Adams. Although Aaron 
Burr was tied with him on thirty-five ballots, Mr. Jefferson was 
elected. His first term is forever distinguished by the purchase of the 
Louisiana Territory from France — his commissioners in that business 
were Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe. At the close of his 
presidency he retired to private life. His is the credit of establishing 
the University of Virginia. Toward the close of his life, being some- 
what embarassed financially. Congress purchased his library for thirty 
thousand dollars — which was the beginning of the Congressional Li- 
brary. It was a most singular coincidence that he and John Adams 
died on the same day, July 4, 1826 — the fiftieth anniversary of the 
nation's birth-day — a coincidence which gave Daniel Webster occasion 
for his oration, "Adams and Jeffisrson. " 

Benjamin Franklin. In complete greatness, it is doubtful if 
this continent has produced the intellectual equal of Benjamin Frank- 
lin. Born in Boston, Mass., January 17, 1706; died April 17, 1790. 
Was educated in the public schools ; when twelve years old learned the 
printer's trade; when seventeen emigrated to Philadelphia, which he 
made his home until his death. Here he found employment at his 
trade. Worked at his trade also in London, England, for a time, until 
in 1726 he returned to Philadelphia, and there established himself as a 
jobbing printer. In 1729, he bought the "Pennsylvania Gazette," 
which, under his management, soon became the leading newspaper in 
America. In 1731, he established the first circulating library on this 
continent. In 1732, he began the publication of "Poor Richard's Al- 

24 



manacs, " which were continued for a quarter of a century, and were 
translated into various European languages. During all these labors 
he became familiar and fluent in the Latin, French, Italian and Spanish 
languages. In 1736, he was chosen Clerk of the Pennsylvania Legis- 
lative Assembly. In the meantime he was appointed Deputy Postmas- 
ter of the colonies under the Crown. About 1737, he organized the first 
police force and fire company in the colonies ; the creation of an hos- 
pital ; the organization of the militia ; the foundation of the University 
of Pennsylvania, and the American Philosophical Society. Meanwhile 
he made discoveries in electricity, and established his fame as a natural 
philosopher. In 1754, he was a delegate to a Congress of Commission- 
ers from the several colonies, which convened in Albany, N. Y., to de- 
vise a plan of common defense, in anticipation of the war with France. 
In 1755, he was appointed as Pennsylvania's Agent to England, 
and performed the duties of that most important post for five 
years, returning home in 1762, and two years later was again sent to 
London as the Special Agent of Pennsylvania. While in London on 
this mission, he powerfully asserted himself for the repeal of the Stamp 
Act. While representing Pennsylvania, he was also commissioned to 
act as agent by and for the colonies of Massachusetts, New Jersey and 
Georgia. In 1775, seeing that a conflict was inevitable, he sailed for 
Philadelphia, and on the day of his arrival was elected a delegate to the 
Continental Congress. By this Congress he was made Postmaster Gen- 
eral of the colonies. In 1776, he was made one of the committee ap- 
pointed to draft a declaration of independence. In this year he was 
chosen president of the convention which framed the first constitution 
for the State of Pennsylvania. In September, 1776, with John Adams 
and Arthur Lee. he was commissioned by Congress to solicit aid from 
the King of France for the Revolution. During eight years of his so- 
journ at Paris, he was the object of greater interest than any other man, 
and his influence at the Court in the cause of independence has no par- 
allel in the history of diplomacy. In the crisis of our affairs, the winter 
of 1777- '78, he obtained a treaty of alliance with the King of France. 
In six years following he procured loans from that country aggregating 
26,000,000 francs. He was one of the commissioners that signed the 
Treaty of Peace with Great Britain in 1783, and this done he asked Con- 
gress to relieve him from further duty. Not, however, until 1785 did 
Congress see fit to accept his resignation, Thomas Jefferson succeeding 
him. Franklin was then seventy-nine years old. Returning to Phila- 
delphia in 1785, he was at once made chairman of the Municipal Coun- 

25 



cil, and shortly afterwards was made president of the State, holding 
that office for three years. In 1787, he was one of the convention that 
framed the Constitution of the United States. This was his last ser- 
vice for the public ; yet, in the next two years, he helped to organize 
the first society on this continent formed for the purpose of abolishing 
slavery, and, as president of this society, he signed the first remon- 
strance against slaver}^ that was addressed to Congress. Not only his 
country, but the whole civilized world mourned his death. In testa- 
monial of his matchless services to his country, Congress directed a 
period of mourning for thirty days. In France, the orator Mirabeau 
pronounced a brilliant eulogium upon his name. '• The genius which 
gave freedom to America, and scattered torrents of light upon Europe, 
is returned to the bosom of the Divinity. * * * Enlightened and free 
Europe at least owes its remembrance, and its regrets, to one of the 
greatest men who have ever served the cause of philosophy and of 
liberty." 

Charles Carroll, of Carrollton; born Sept. 20, 1737, in Mary- 
land; died in Baltimore, Md., Sept. 14, 1832, in his ninety-sixth year. 
At eight years of age his father sent him to be educated in France at 
the Jesuit College of St. Omer. Learned law in England. When he 
was twenty-eight years old, returned home. His father dying when 
Charles was twenty- six years of age, he came into possession of estates 
which made him the richest man of that day in the colonies. When he 
returned home, as a most finished scholar and gentleman, the people of 
the whole colonies were strongly agitated over the passage of the 
Stamp Act. His attention was at once arrested, and he turned his 
mind intently upon political affairs. He engaged in newspaper contro- 
versies with the authorities of Maryland, and wielded his pen so power- 
fully in support of the Patriot cause, that his opponents retreated dis- 
comfitted. In 1771 and 1772 he was especially distinguished as a writer, 
and his reputation was established in all the other colonies. In the 
latter year he wrote a series of letters against the right, affirmed by the 
British government, to tax the colonies in all cases whatsoever, under 
the signature of " The First Citizen. " The Secretary of the Colony of 
Maryland, Mr. Dulauny, wrote in opposition to them, but was com- 
pletely unhorsed in the discussion. For this service the people instruct- 
ed their representatives in the Legislature to return their thanks to the 
unknown author. But when he became known, large numbers of people 
thanked him personally. Mr. Carroll was appointed a member of the 

26 



FOREIGN POLICY. 

"Observe good faith and justice toward all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. * * 
Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence 'I conjure you to believe me, fellow citizens), the jealousy of 
a free people ought to be constantly awake since history and ex])erience prove that foreign influence is 
one of the most baneful foes of republican government. * * * It is our true policy to steer clear of per- 
manent alliances with any portion of the foreign world ; * * * Taking care always to keep ourselves by 
suitable establishments on a respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances 
for extraordinary emergencies. — George Washington. 




( REDUCKD FROM 22x24 INCHES.) 



"THE MONROE DOCTRINE." 

" We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and 
those powers, to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any 
portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing colonies or dependen- 
cies of any European power we have not interfered, and shall not interfere. But with the governments 
who have declared their independence, and maintained it, and whose independence we have, on great 
consideration and just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any interposition for the purpose ol 
oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner their destiny by any European power, in any other 
light than as a manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States.— Pkesident 
Monroe, Seventh Annual Message, December 2, 1823. 



first " Committee of Safety of Maryland," and in 1775 he was elected 
to the Provincial Assembly. At that time Maryland was opposed to 
independence. Early in 1776, Mr. Carroll made a visit to the Continen- 
tal Congress at Philadelphia, and so favorably was he known to that 
body, that he was appointed on a committee to visit Canada to try and 
bring those Provinces to join in opposition to Great Britain. On his 
return from that mission, he found Congress debating the resolution of 
Independence. He went at once to Maryland, and influenced the 
legislature to favor that measure. He was elected a delegate to Con- 
gress, with instructions to "vote on any question therein as his judg- 
ment might dictate. " He arrived in Philadelphia on July 8, too late to 
vote for Independence, but he signed the Declaration on August 2d. 
Soon after he took his seat, he was appointed a member of "The Board 
of War, " and continued therein during all of the time he was a member 
of Congress, retaining meanwhile his membership of the Maryland 
Assembly. In 1776 he was a member of the convention that framed the 
first Constitution of his native state, and, after its adoption, he was 
chosen a member of the State Senate. He continued in Congress till 
1788, when he relinquished his seat. He was elected to the Maryland 
Senate in 1781, and continued as such till the Federal Constitution was 
adopted in 1788, when he was elected United States Senator from Mary- 
land. Here he remained two years. He was again State Senator from 
1790 to 1801. He then retired to private life, at the age of sixty-four 
years. The remaining thirty-two years of his life were passed at his 
home, honored and revered by the Republic with whose existence and 
life he was so long identified. Of the fifty-six immortals who signed 
the Declaration of Independence, he was the last to go to his eternal 
reward. 



1789— CONSTITUTION -UNION -CONSTRUCTION. —1824 

George Washington, " The Father of His Country." Born in 
Westmoreland, Virginia, February 22, 1732 ; died at Mt. Vernon, Vir- 
ginia, December 14. 1799. His opportunities for education were limit- 
ed. Was proficient in mathematics, in which he was largely self 
taught. For three years, after he was sixteen, he was engaged in sur- 
veying the extensive domain then belonging to Lord Fairfax. At nine- 
teen he was appointed as adjutant of the Virginia troops with rank of 
major, and within two years after was made commander of the northern 

27 



district of Virginia. In 1755, was commissioned Commander-in-Cliief 
of the Virginia forces. He was at Braddock's defeat, and succeeded 
in bringing off the remnant of Braddock's troops in good order. In 
1758 he commanded the advance guard of the expedition that captured 
Fort Duquesne. The war over, he married a rich widow, Mrs. Custis, 
and settled down upon his estate at Mt. Vernon, which he inherited 
from his half brother Lawrence. Here, for twenty years, he was a typ- 
ical Virginia planter, and was repeatedly elected to the legislature of 
that colony. In 1774, he was one of the seven delegates sent by Vir- 
ginia to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia. After the battle at 
Lexington, Congress commissioned him as Commander-in Chief of the 
Continental forces, upon motion of John Adams. He took command at 
Cambridge, July 2, 1775, and within nine months thereafter, com- 
pelled the British troops to evacuate Boston. The history of the Revo- 
lutionary war is a history of his campaigns. In planning the campaign 
which ended in the surrender of Cornwallis, he received his only finan- 
cial aid from Robert Morris, who procured the money upon his own 
credit. On Dec. 20, 1783, he returned his commission to Congress and 
retired to private life ; thenceforth he gave his great influence in sup- 
port of a convention to frame a Federal constitution, and when that 
convention met he was unanimously chosen as its President and presid- 
ing officer. It is owing to his paramount influence that that instrument 
was ratified by the requisite number of the states in conventions called 
for that purpose. When the new government began business he was 
the unanimous choice of the electors for President of the United States, 
and was so re-elected in 1793 — the only one of the illustrious line to be 
so distinguished. In a farewell message — which is a classic in our 
political literature, well worthy of being committed to memory by 
every schoolboy — he declined a third election to that exalted station ; 
and at the end of his second term, in March, 1797, returned to his 
estates and resumed the plantation life he loved so well. In the year 
following, however, he was again called into the service of his country, 
by Commission of Congress, being made Commander-in-Chief of the 
Federal forces, in anticipation of war with France. While making 
military plans and preparations for the expected campaign, he was 
taken ill and died quite suddenly at Mt. Vernon, as before said, Dec. 14, 
1799. The whole country was profoundly shocked by his death. 
Countless eulogies were pronounced upon his life and services, the lead- 
ing one in Congress being that delivered by Richard Henry Lee, of 
Viginia, who said of him, "First in War, First in Peace, and First in 

28 



the Hearts of His Countrymen." * * * Providence denied him children, 
in order that he might become "The Father of his Country. " 

Alexander Hamilton. Born in the island of Nevis, W. Indies, 
in 1757 ; died Jan. 12, 1804, at New York City, from the effects of a pis- 
tol shot received the day before in a duel with Aaron Burr. When a 
child he was taken by his mother to the island of St. Croix, and, having 
received all the educational advantages to be there obtained, he entered 
a commercial house at the age of thirteen, displaying therein the abili- 
ties of a master intellect. At the age of fifteen he left the West Indies 
and came to New York ; attended Grammar school at Elizabethtown, 
N. I., for a year, and then entered as a student of Kings (now Colum- 
bia) College in 1774. While a student here he became Captain of a 
Company of Artillery in the service of Congress. In that command he 
took part in several battles of the Revolution, and was present at the 
surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. He was General Washington's 
private secretary for some time, with the rank of Lt. -Colonel. In 1787 
he married a daughter of Robert Livingston. In the years following 
this event he wrote a series of letters or essays exposing with great 
force and clearness the inherent weakness and defects of the Articles of 
Confederation under which the Federal government was doing business ; 
and it is alleged that he was the first American statesman to suggest 
the formation of a more perfect Union under a constitution of adequate 
power. He was a delegate to the convention which met in Philadelphia 
in 1787, with this purpose in view, and though the plan of organic law 
and government proposed by him was not accepted, the Constitu- 
tion then and there framed embodied his theories and principles 
which have since been controlling in the Federal government. In- 
deed, as was said of him by the historian Guizot : "There is not in the 
Constitution of the United States an element of order, of force and of 
duration, which he did not powerfully contribute to inject into it and 
cause to predominate." Pending the adoption of the Constitution by 
the several states, Hamilton, in conjunction with James Madison and 
John Jay, wrote the papers in " The Federalist, " — though, according to 
Henry Cabot Lodge, Hamilton wrote the major portion of these cele- 
brated essays — in order to convince the people at large that the proposed 
Constitution was the best that could be obtained. He was a delegate to 
the Convention of the State of New York, called to ratify the Constitu- 
tion, and it was chiefly by his influence that the convention adopted it. 
When the new government under its provisions began, Washington 

29 



appointed Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury, on the request, it is 
said, of Robert Morris, to whom he had first offered that post. Hamil- 
ton 's papers and reports, while in this position, are masterpieces. His 
skill as a financier was characterized by Daniel Webster in these words : 
" He smote the rock of the National resources and abundant streams of 
revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse of public credit, 
and it sprung upon its feet. " He declined the offer to become Chief Jus- 
tice of the United States Supreme Court, preferring to practice law. 
Resigning his secretaryship, he returned to the practice of law at 
New York City, and was soon without a rival at the head of his pro- 
fession. His relentless opposition to Aaron Burr brought a challenge 
to a duel, in anticipation of which, it seems. Burr practiced daily with 
his pistol. 

James Madison, "The Father of the Constitution." Born in 
King George county, Virginia, March i6, 1751 ; died June 20, 1836; 
graduated from Princeton College at the age of twenty years ; 
was admitted to the bar in his native State ; was delegate to the con- 
vention which formed a constitution for the State of Virginia in 1776; 
in the next year was chosen a member of the Council of State, and 
was conspicuous and influential therein till the end of 1779. In this 
year was elected delegate to the Federal Congress, and continued a 
member of that body till 1784, when he was chosea a member of the 
Virginia Legislature, wherein he was active in the promotion of the 
movement for the organization of a stronger federal government under 
a constitution. Was delegate from Virginia to the convention in Phil- 
adelphia which met in 1787, and framed the Constitution of the United 
States, which was finally shaped, largely by his influence. In order to 
secure the adoption of the constitution, he associated himself with 
Alexander Hamilton and John Jay in the publication of a series of arti- 
cles, which in 1788 were issued from the Press to the People, under the 
title of "The Federalist." In the convention of Virginia, called to 
adopt or reject the proposed Federal Constitution, he was its most pow- 
erful supporter, contending against the great influence of Patrick 
Henry, who was opposed to it ; and it was mainly through Madison 's 
influence that this convention adopted it. In 1789, he was a member of 
Congress under this constitution, and soon became the leader of the 
anti-federalist party therein. In 1797, he withdrew to private life, but 
in the next year he wrote the so-called " Virginia Resolutions, " which 
were adopted by the legislature, and which declared the "Alien " and 

30 



" Sedition " laws, passed by Congress in that year, to be " null, void, 
and of no eflfect. " When Thomas Jefferson became President, March 
4, 1801, he appointed Madison Secretary of State, and he held this oflfice 
until he himself was elected President in 1809. He was re-elected to 
the chief magistracy, and at the end of this term he retired to his 
country seat, Montpelier, and employed his time in agricultural pur- 
suits, and as an adviser to the statesmen of his party to the day of his 
death. 

John Jay ; born in New York City, December 23, 1745 ; died at 
Bedford, N. Y., May 17, 1829; graduated from Columbia College ; was 
a lawyer. Served as a member of the Continental Congress, from New 
York, 1774 to 1777, in 1778 and 1779. Was a delegate to the conven- 
tion that created the first constitution of the State of New York, in 
1776, and was Chief Justice of that State. In 1779, was Minister of the 
United States to Spain. In 1783, was one of the ministers of the United 
States who negotiated the Treaty of Paris, by which the independence 
of the United States was acknowledged. Was Secretary of Foreign 
Affairs under the confederated union of the United States. Was the 
first Chief Justice of the United States, from 1789 to 1795. In 1794, 
he was appointed by President Washington Minister Extraordinary to 
Great Britain to negotiate a treaty with that power. The result of his 
efforts — since known as "Jay's Treaty" — were submitted to the 
United States Senate for ratification in June, 1795, receiving the sanction 
of that body and Washington 's signature. The question of the endorse- 
ment of this treaty by the government led to one of the bitterest discus- 
sions in the press, on the platform, and in legislative halls, that ever 
occurred in this country. During the discussion, copies of the treaty, 
and effigies of Jay, were publicly burned. The most outrageous charges 
were made against Washington, which he himself said were "in terms 
so exaggerated and indecent as could scarcely be applied to a Nero, a 
notorious defaulter, or even to a common pick-pocket. ' ' Still, as Wash- 
ington believed the terms of that treaty were the best obtainable in the 
circumstances, the weight of his influence turned the scale in its favor, 
and the House of Representatives, in April, 1796, by a small majority, de- 
cided to carry it into eftect. The struggle in the house concerning it gave 
opportunity to Fisher Ames, a member from Massachusetts, to deliver 
a speech in its favor, which for force, elegance and eloquence is gener- 
ally regarded as a classic of legislative debate. 

31 



John Marshall, "The Great Chief Justice. " Born in Farquier 
county, Virginia, September 24, 1755 ; died at Philadelphia, June 6, 
1835 ; was educated at Westmoreland, and by private tutor. Began the 
study of law at the age of eighteen, but suspended to join the patriot 
army in the revolution, in which he served to the end. Meantime was 
admitted to practice at the bar, and at the close of the war began prac- 
tice. In 1782 and 1787, was a member of the Virginia Legislature. 
Was also a member of the convention of Virginia, called to ratify the 
federal constitution, and was conspicuous and masterly in support of it. 
When the question arose in Washington's cabinet : whether the consti- 
tution should be strictly or liberally construed, — Jefferson being the 
leader for the former, and Hamilton for the latter, — Marshall supported 
the views held by Washington and Hamilton. From 1792 to 1795, he 
was devoted entirely to the practice of his profession. In the last year 
was again elected to the legislature, and therein appeared as a cham- 
pion of "Jay's Treaty, " in a speech in opposition to a resolution con- 
demnatory thereof, so powerful as to change a minority to a majority. 
Washington offered him the post of Attorney General of the United 
States, which he declined ; and he also declined the place of Minister to 
France, but accepted the same in 1797, as a colleague of Elbridge Gerry 
and Charles C. Pinckney. Returning from this mission 1798, he re- 
sumed the practice of law. However, at Washington's solicitation, he 
stood for Congress, and was elected a member of the House of Repre- 
sentatives in 1799. During the canvas for this office, President Adams 
offered him a seat on the United States Supreme Court, which he de- 
clined. In the House of Representatives he was soon acknowledged to 
be the leader in the debates upon constitutional questions. In May, 1800, 
was appointed Secretary of War, but before entering on the duties there- 
of, accepted the office of Secretary of State, in which he conducted sever- 
al important discussions with representatives of foreign States. On Jan- 
uary 31, 1801, he was appointed by President John Adams Chief Justice 
of the Supreme Court, and the Senate, without dissenting vote, con- 
firmed him as such. Here he remained till his death, — a period of 
thirty-four years, — from first to last exercising a paramount influence 
upon the decisions of causes involving questions about the powers ex- 
pressed and implied in the constitution. 

Robert R. Livingston, "The Cicero of America, " was born in 
the city of New York in 1747 ; graduated with honor from Kings (now 
Columbia) College in 1764 ; studied law, and was regularly admitted 

82 



to practice in 1771 ; was appointed Recorder of his native city, but be- 
cause he espoused the patriot cause, he was ejected from that office. In 
1775, he was elected a member of the Continental Congress, and re- 
elected to the same in 1776. He was on the committee with Jefferson, 
John Adams and others to draft the Declaration of Independence, but 
did not sign that document for reasons not stated by himself or by his 
biographers. He was a member of the convention which framed the 
first constitution for the State of New York. Under the Articles of Con- 
federation he served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 1781 to 1783. 
In the latter year he was appointed Chancellor of the State of New 
York — the first under the constitution of that State. He was a mem- 
ber of the convention of that State, in 1788, to consider the newly 
formed Constitution of the United States ; and was one of the ablest 
advocates in securing its adoption. Washington was inaugurated first 
President, and Chancellor Livingston had the exalted honor of admin- 
istering the oath of ofiice to him in the city of New York in April, 1789. 
In 1801, he was appointed by President Jefferson Minister to the Court 
of France, and as such, with James Monroe, negotiated the purchase of 
the Louisiana Territory. In 1803, when the treaty confirming that 
purchase was signed, Mr. Livingston arose from his seat and with 
prophetic voice said : " We have lived long, but this is the noblest work 
of our whole lives. The treaty which we have just signed has not been 
obtained by art or dictated by force ; equally advantageous to both con- 
tracting parties, it will change vast solitudes into flourishing districts. 
From this day the United States take their place among the powers of 
the first rank ; the English lose all exclusive influence in the aff'airs of 
America." Napoleon, too, on this occasion spoke prophetically, say- 
ing: "This accession of territory strengthens forever the power of the 
United States ; and I have given to England a maritime rival that will 
sooner or later humble her pride. " Chancellor Livingston died in 1813, 
in his sixty-sixth year. The purity and ease of his writing and oratory 
obtained for him, from the illustrious Benjamin Franklin, the title of 
"The Cicero of America." 

GouvERNEUR Morris; born at Morrisania, N. Y., January 31, 
1752; died same place November 6, 1816; graduated at Kings (now 
Columbia) College, 1768 ; was admitted to the bar. From 1775 to 1778, 
was a delegate to the Provincial Congress of New York State, and was 
therein a member of the committee that drafted the first constitution 
for that State. Was a delegate from New York to the Continental 

33 



Congress in 1777. In July, 1781, was chosen by Robert Morris as Assist- 
ant Superintendent of the National Finances, holding that oflSce for three 
years and a half. After the revolution was ended, he resumed the prac- 
tice of law. He was a delegate from Pennsylvania to the Constitutional 
Convention of 1797, and was chairman of the committee of iive mem- 
bers to draft and form the style of the constitution, and as such per- 
formed most of that important task. In 1791, was appointed by Presi- 
dent Washington secret agent of the United States to England. In 
1792, was appointed Minister to France, and served until October, 1794, 
when he was recalled. In 1800, he was elected United States Senator 
from New York, and served till 1803. In May, 1780, he was thrown 
from his horse, and so injured his leg that amputation was necessary. 
Mr. Morris was one of the earliest promoters of the Erie canal. He was 
a brilliant orator, and delivered many addresses in public. His form 
was taken by the sculptor, Houdan, as a model for his statue of Wash- 
ington. 

Albert Gallatin ; born in Geneva, Switzerland, January 29, 
1761 ; died at Astoria, N. Y., August 12, 1849 ; graduated at the Uni- 
versity of Geneva. He was an instructor at Harvard University. In 
1785, he settled in Western Pennsylvania. Was a member of the House 
of Representatives trom 1795 to 1801. In 1802, he was appointed Sec- 
retary of the Treasury by President Jefferson, and held that ofiBce con- 
tinuously till 1814, having been re-appointed by President Madison. 
In 1814, he negotiated the Treaty of Peace with England — the Treaty 
of Ghent. In 1815, he was Minister of the United States to France; 
in 1826, Minister to Great Britain. In 1827, he settled in New York 
city, becoming president of a bank there. As Secretary of the Treasury 
Mr. Gallatin was especially distinguished for zeal and ability in advo- 
cating and organizing schemes for the development of the national re- 
sources. In the spring of 1807, Senator Worthington, of Ohio, — one of 
Gallatin's most intimate friends — secured the adoption by the United 
States Senate of a resolution directing the Secretary of the Treasurj- to 
prepare and report to the Senate a general scheme of internal improve- 
ment. After a year's hard work in preparation, in 1808, the Secretary 
made his report, which contemplated an extensive system of public 
roads from Maine to Georgia; for the improvement of the navigation 
of the rivers ; for roads across the Appalachian mountain range ; and 
for canals to connect the Hudson river with Lake Champlain and with 
Lake Ontario ; and a canal around Niagara Falls. 

34 



Fisher Ames; born in Dedham, Mass., April 9, 1758; died July 
4, 1808 ; graduated from Harvard College at the age of seventeen ; prac- 
ticed law, which he abandoned for politics. In 1788, was a member 
of the Convention of Massachusetts, called to ratify the proposed Fed- 
eral Constitution, in which body he was noted for ability in debate and 
as an orator. In 1789, he was elected to the legislature of Massachu- 
setts. During all of Washington's administration, Mr. Ames was a 
member of Congress, and took a leading part in the national councils. 
His reputation as an orator of the first class was greatly enhanced by 
his speech in defense of "Jay's Treat}'," April, 1796. After eight 
years' service in the House of Representatives, he resumed the practice 
of law in his home town, Dedham, and while so engaged prepared and 
published several essays. He was chosen president of Harvard College 
in 1804, but declined that great honor on account of infirm health. 

James Monroe ; born in Westmoreland county, Virginia, April 
29, 1758; died in New York city, July 4, 1831. Was educated in Wil- 
liam and Mary College, but quit his studies therein 1776 to join the 
continental army and fight for the independence of his country. Was 
lieutenant in the campaign in New Jersey during that year, and was 
wounded at the battle of Trenton. The next year was captain. In 
1780, began the studj- of law, under the supervision of Thomas Jeffer- 
son, then Governor of Virginia, whose friendship he retained during 
that statesman's life. In 1782, Monroe was a member of the Virginia 
legislature; and from 1783 to 1786 he was a member of Congress under 
the Confederation. Retiring from Congress, he began the active prac- 
tice of law, and was again elected to the legislature. Was a delegate 
in the Virginia convention, for the ratification of the federal constitu- 
tion, but voted against its adoption. Nevertheless he was elected by 
the legislature to the Senate of the United States in 1790. Though op- 
posed to the federalist party, Washington appointed him, in 1794, Min- 
ister to France, but recalled him two years later. In 1799, he was 
elected Governor of Virginia, and was twice re-elected to that office. 
When Jefferson became President, he commissioned Monroe, in 1803, 
to CO operate with Robert R. Livingston, then Resident Minister of the 
United States at Paris, in the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. 
Subsequently he had a diplomatic mission to England, and later a mis- 
sion to Spain. In 1806, he was associated with William Pinkney to 
negotiate a treaty with England, but their negotiations failed. Re- 
turning home, he was, in 1810, again elected to the legistature of his 

5i5 



native State, and the next year was elected Governor of that State. In 
this year he was appointed Secretary of State by President Madison, 
and in connection with the duties of that station performed for a while 
those of the War department. Was elected President in 1816, and re- 
elected in 1820, then securing all the electoral votes but one, which was 
cast against him in order that none but Washington should hold the 
honor of an unanimous election to that exalted office. During his ad- 
ministration, our territory was enlarged by the acquisition of the Flor- 
idas— our second annexation. In 1823, he announced to the world what 
has ever since been internationally tnown as " The Monroe Doctrine," 



1824— DOMESTIC POLITICS-FINANCE-TARIFF-SLAVERY— I86I 

John Quincy Adams, " The Old Man Eloquent." Born at Brain- 
tree, Mass., July 11, 1767; died February 23, 1848, at Washington, 
D. C, having been stricken two days before on the iloor of the House 
of Representative, of which he was a member. Was the eldest son of 
John Adams, second President of the United States. When eleven 
years old he visited Europe with his father, and did so again in 1780, 
when, for a time, he was a student at the University of Leyden. At 
the age of fifteen, he was Secretary of Legation at St. Petersburg. Re- 
turning home, after some time spent in Holland, Paris and London, he 
entered Harvard College, and graduated from that institution in 1788. 
Three years afterwards he was admitted to the bar. In 1794, Presi- 
dent Washington appointed him Minister of the United States at The 
Hague. When his father became President, he was appointed Minister 
to Prussia. Recalled by President Jeflferson, he resumed the practice of 
law at Boston. In 1802, he was elected to the Senate of Massachusetts, 
and the next year was elected to Congress. Up to this time he was 
affiliated with the Federalist part}% but indicated his departure there- 
from by voting with the Republicans for the Embargo Act — an act 
which resulted in his temporary retirement from public life. During 
three years thereafter he was professor of rhetoric and belles-lettres at 
Harvard College. In 1809, was appointed by President Madison on a 
mission to St. Petersburg. He was one of the ministers of the United 
States in concluding the treaty of peace with Great Britain, 1814. After 
two years' service as Minister at London, he returned home, and was 
appointed Secretary of State under President Monroe. In 1824, was 
elected to the presidencj'^ by the House of Representatives. Defeated 

36 



GOOD CITIZENSHIP. 

" It is not in the splendor of aristocracy, supported by powerful monopoly, that the people will find 
happiness, or their liberties protection ; but in a plain system of government, devoid of pomp, and grant- 
ing favors to none. Every good citizen makes his country's honor his own, and cherishes it not only as 
precious, but as sacred." — President Jackson 

"A Nation's character is the sum of its splendid deeds ; they constitute our common patrimony, the 
Nation's inheritance ; they awe foreign powers, they arouse and animate our own people." — Henry Clay. 

" Freedom must be subordinate to whatever power may be necessary to protect society against an- 
archy within, or destruction from without." — John C. Calhoun. 




AMERICAN STATESMEN 




-.6}, 



( REDUCED FROM 22x24 INCHES.) 



I was born an American ; I live an American ; I shall die an American ; and I intend to perform the 
duties incumbent upon me in that character to the end of my career, I mean to do this, with absolute dis- 
regard of personal consequences. What are personal consequences? What is the individual man, with 
all the good or evil that may betide him, in comparison with the good or evil which may befall a great 
country, and in the midst of great transactions which concern that country's fate? Let the consequences 
be what they will, I am careless. No man can suffer too much, and no man can fall too soon, if he suflfer, 
or if he fall, in defense of the liberties and constitution of his country. — Daniel Webster. 



for re-election by Andrew Jackson, he retired to his home in Quincy. 
Two years later he was elected to Congress, and held that honor by re- 
elections till his death, during all of which period he was the uncom- 
promising advocate for the abolition of slavery and the champion of the 
right of petition. He was the most accomplished scholar in the list of 
our presidents, and an excellent orator. 

Andrew Jackson, "Old Hickory." Born at Waxhaw settle- 
ment, N. C, March 15, 1767 ; died near Nashville, Tenn., June 8, 1845. 
It seems that he had no regular school training, but was self-educated. 
Was a soldier in the revolution, and was captured by the British in 
1 78 1. Was admitted to the bar, and began practice at Nashville, Tenn. 
In 1796, he was a delegate to the convention which framed the constitu- 
tion of Tennessee. Was a member of Congress from that State in 1796 
and 1797. and became a United States Senator from Tennesee in 1797, 
but resigned in the year following. From 1798 to 1804, he was Judge 
of the Supreme Court of Tennessee. In 1813, as Major General of the 
Militia, he commanded in the campaign against the Creek Indians in 
Georgia and Alabama. In May, 1814, he was commissioned Major 
General in the regular army to serve against the British. On January 
8, 1815, he defeated the British in the battle of New Orleans, though, 
unknown to him, the war was ended before that time. In 1818, was in 
command in the Seminole Indian War in Florida, and in 1821, was 
military governor of that Territory. From 1823 to 1825, was again 
United States Senator from Tennesee. In the election for President in 
1824, Jackson secured the largest number of electoral votes, but the 
House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams President. In 
1828, Jackson was elected President and re-elected in 1832. As Presi- 
dent he overthrew the Bank of the United States, put down the attempt 
of South Carolina to nullify the laws of Congress, and succeeded in his 
purpose to place Van Buren, his Secretary of State, in the presidential 
chair as his successor. 

John Randolph, of Roanoke. Born in Chesterfield county, Vir- 
ginia, June 2, 1773; died at Philadelphia, May 24, 1S33 ; educated in 
the main by private tutor and at select schools. Was a member of 
Congress (House of Representatives) from 1799 to 1813, from 1815 to 
1817, and from 1819 to 1823. From 1825 to 1827, was a United States 
Senator from Virginia. From 1827 to 1829, was again a 
member of the House of Representatives. In 1830, was ap- 

37 



pointed by President Jackson United States Minister to Rus- 
sia, but resigned soon after. In his long service in the House 
of Representatives and Senate, he displayed extraordinary ability 
as a legislator and orator, and was noted for trenchant speech and elo- 
quence in debate. Though a democrat, he often antagonized his party. 
His particular foible was pride in his descent from the Indian princess, 
Pocahontas. 

John Caldwell Calhoun; born in District "Ninety six, " South 
Carolina, March i8, 1782; died at Washington, D. C, March 31, 
1850 ; graduated from Yale College ; admitted to the bar in 1807. Soon 
after elected to the legislature of South Carolina. In 181 1, entered the 
House of Representatives, when war with England was imminent ; 
was made a member of the committee on foreign relations, and in that 
capacit}'^ urged a declaration of war with great force and eloquence. In 
181 7, President Monroe appointed him as Secretary of War, an office 
which he reorganized so as to leave the impress of his master mind up- 
on it to this day. During his incumbency of this office, a controversy 
arose between him and General Jackson as to the latter 's conduct in the 
Seminole Indian war, — a difference that was the cause of the breach be- 
tween them when Jackson became President. In 1824, he was elected 
Vice-President — John Quincy Adams being elected President, — and 
was re-elected under President Jackson io 1828. During the next three 
or four years, he wrote a series of addresses in which he upheld the 
doctrine of nullification, which the legislature of South Carolina under- 
took to put in force and practice in 1832, but which was checked by 
President Jackson. In November, 1832, he was elected United States 
Senator from South Carolina, and resigned the office of Vice-President 
and took his seat in the Senate, as the avowed champion of the South, 
supporter of nullification, and defender of slavery, — Daniel Webster 
being his principal opponent. His speeches in the Senate during the 
next ten years are among the most powerful and brilliant in the history 
of that august body, with regard to finance, tariff, statesrights, slavery 
and other topics. In 1843, Calhoun's term as Senator expired. In 
1848, he was appointed Secretary of State, and upon retiring therefrom, 
was again re-elected to the Senate, and continued there till his death. 
His great rivals in the national legislature were Webster and Clay. 

Daniel Webster, "The Defender of the Constitution." Born in 
Salisbury, N.H., January 17, 1782; died at his home in Marshfield, Mass., 

38 



October 24, 1852 ; graduated from Dartmouth College in 1807 ; studied 
law, and was admitted to the bar at Boston ; began practice of his pro- 
fession near the place of his birth, because his father so desired, but 
soon removed to Portsmouth, N. H., and became a leader of the bar 
there. In 1813, he was elected a member of Congress from New Hamp- 
shire, and served two terms. In 1818, he quit politics, and established 
himself at Boston, where he soon acquired national reputation and fame 
as a lawj'er and advocate. In 1820, he established his reputation as an 
orator by his address on the two hundredth anniversary of the landing 
of the Pilgrims. His fame was enhanced by the oration delivered at 
the laying of the corner stone of Bunker Hill monument in 1825, and in 
1826 by his oration on Adams and Jeflferson. In 1823, Webster was re- 
turned to Congress from Massachusetts. In 1827, Massachusetts sent 
him to the United States Senate, where he served that State till his 
death, excepting the times of his service in the Cabinet of President 
Harrison as Secretary' of State, which he retained under President Tyler. 
By treaty negotiated with Lord Ashburton in 1842, he settled the 
boundary of Maine. It was in January, 1830, that he delivered the 
speech, known as the "Reply to Hayne, " which made him illustrious 
as the " Defender of the Constitution. " During nearly all of the time 
he was in the Senate, he was the champion of Northern sentiment and 
ideas in regard to the nature of the Federal union as against the South- 
ern sentiment, -which was represented and championed by John C. Cal- 
houn, His support of the compromise measures proposed by Henry 
Clay in 1850, alienated many of his friends and admirers in the North, 
and cost him the loss of the nomination to the presidency by the Whig 
party, with which he was affiliated. 

Henry Clay, "Father of the American Sj'stem." Born near 
Richmond, Va., April 12, 1777 ; died July 29, 1851. Was the son of a 
Baptist clergyman, who died when Henry was five years old. For a 
while the boy worked on a farm, and acquired thereby the popular 
designation of " Millboy of the Slashes." At the age of 
fifteen was employed in the office of the Clerk of Chancery 
Court; and in 1796, when nineteen j'ears old, began the 
study of law. A year later was admitted to the bar, and began 
to practice in Lexington, Ky. In 1803, he was elected to the Kentucky 
legislature. In 1806, he was for a few months a Senator of the United 
States. In 1807, he was again elected to the legislature, of which body, 
in 1808, he was chosen Speaker. In :8ii, he commenced his career in 

39 



the House of Representatives, and was elected Speaker of that body, a 
position which he held in the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, 
sixteenth and eighteenth Congresses. It was perhaps through his in- 
fluence that war was declared to exist between the United States and 
Great Britain in 1812. When that contest ended, he was one of the 
commissioners who, at Ghent, signed the Treaty of Peace. In 1824, 
he was a candidate for the presidency, and, as the election to that ofiBce 
fell to the House of Representatives, he gave his support and influence 
to John Quincy Adams, who was elected. During Adams' administra- 
tion Clay was Secretary of State. In 1832, and again in 1844, he was 
unsuccessful in his candidacy for the presidency, though he was regard- 
ed as the most popular public man in the United States. After the 
election of 1844, he retired to private life; but in 1848 was again sent 
to the United States Senate from Kentucky. In 1850, he won the credit 
of putting through Congress the compromise measures by which he 
sought to avert a disruption of the Union, that seemed imminent, on 
account of the slavery question. He is regarded as the Father of the 
Policy of Protection to American Industries — "a man who was in 
public service for fifty years and never attempted to deceive his coun- 
trymen. " 

Thomas Hart Benton; born at Hillsborough, N. C. , March 14, 
1782 ; died at Washington, D. C, April 10, 1858 ; educated at University 
of North Carolina, but was in the main self-educated, being a close stu- 
dent and omniverous reader all his life. Removed with his widowed 
mother to Tennessee ; there studied law and began the practice of his 
profession. In the war of 1812, he was aide de camp to General Andrew 
Jackson, and was colonel of a regiment of volunteers which he recruit- 
ed. The war over, in 1815 he resumed the practice of law at St. Louis, 
where he established a newspaper — " The Missouri Inquirer, " the edi- 
torials of which involved him in several duels. Missouri becoming a 
State in 1820, — the first that was carved out of the Louisiana Purchase 
— he was elected Senator of the United States, and held a seat in that 
body continuously for thirty years. Was defeated for re-election in 
1850 by a coalition of his own party and others. In 1852. was elected a 
member of the House of Representatives. During all of his thirty 
years in the Senate, he was one of the most influential members of that 
body, and was identified with all important legislation during that time. 

James Knox Polk ; born in Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, 
November 2, 1795; died at Nashville, Tenn., June 15, 1849; graduated 

40 



from the University of North Carolina ; was a lawyer by profession ; 
in politics a Democrat. Was a member of the House of Representatives 
from 1825 to 1839 inclusively. Was Speaker of the House during the 
last four years of that time. From 1839 to 1843, was Governor of 
Tennessee. From 1845 to 1849 was President of the United States. Dur- 
ing- his administration the Mexican war began and ended ; we acquired 
Texas, our third annexation ; and New Mexico and California, our 
fourth annexations of territory, were accomplished ; and the trouble- 
some dispute with England about the Oregon boundary was adjusted 
and settled. 

Lewis Cass ; born in Exeter, N. H., October 9, 1782 ; died in De- 
troit, Mich., June 17, 1866; educated at the academy in his native 
town. In 1900, removed with his father to Ohio, and settled near Mar- 
ietta, where he studied law. In 1803, was admitted to the bar. In 
1806, began his political career as a member of the Ohio legislature. 
In 1807, President Jefferson appointed him Marshal of Ohio, which 
place he held till 1813. when he enlisted to fight England, as colonel of 
the 3d Ohio Volunteers. At the close of the campaign of 1813, he was 
in command of the territory of Michigan, as Governor — a position 
which he held for eighteen years, being the while also ex-oflScio commis- 
sioner of Indian affairs. In 1831, President Jackson appointed him 
Secretary of War, and in 1836 he submitted to Congress his justly cele- 
brated report on the military and naval defenses of the country. Soon 
after this he resigned his post as Secretary of War, and was appointed 
Minister to France. Resigning this post, he returned home in 1842. 
In 1845, he was elected United States Senator from Michigan, which 
place he resigned in May, 1848, on receiving the nomination by the 
Democratic party to the presidency. He was defeated by Zachary Tay- 
lor, and, in 1849, ^^ was re-elected to the Senate for the remaining por- 
tion of his original unexpired term. Here he was a strong supporter 
of Henry Clay's Compromise measures of 1850. Was re elected to the 
Senate for six years from March, 1851. Was an unsuccessful candidate 
for the nomination to the presidency in 1S52. This ended his aspira- 
tions in that direction. In 1857, he was appointed Secretary of State 
by President Buchanan and served ; but when the President refused 
to re-enforce Major Anderson at Fort Sumpter in i860, foreseeing civil 
war, he resigned, and thus ended a political career of fifty-four years. 
His sympathies were with the Union cause during the Civil war. His 
whole career was associated with the developement of the Northwestern 

41 



territory, out of which were carved the States of Michigan, Wisconsin, 
Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. 

Stephen Arnold Douglas, "The Little Giant, " Born at Bran- 
don, Vt., 1813 ; educated at Canandaigua Academy. In 1S33, settled at 
Jacksonville, 111., and there taught school ; admitted to the bar in 1834. 
In 1835, was elected Attorney General of Illinois. In the same year 
was elected to the Legislature, and five j'ears later was elected as Secre- 
tary of State of Illinois. Was Judge of the Supreme Court of that State 
1841-1843, when he resigned, and was elected a member of Congress. 
In 1847 he was elected to the United State Senate, and continued therein 
until his death at Chicago, June 3. 1861. In 1858 he engaged with 
Abraham Lincoln in a series of joint debates in public, the stake being 
the United States Senatorship. He succeeded in this contest — the 
most remarkable and memorable in our political history, — but Lin- 
coln's fame and popularity were so firmly established thereby as to 
cause his nomination and election to the presidency, Douglas being the 
nominee of one wing of the Democratic party in the election. On the 
outbreak of the Civil war, Douglas urged all his followers to stand by 
the Union and the Constitution. He was popularly known as "The 
Little Giant, " in recognition of his small stature and great power as a 
debater and public speaker. 



1861 — REBELLION - RECONSTRUCTION - CONCORD — 1901 

Abraham Lincoln, "The Emancipator." Born in Hardin Co., 
Ky., February 12, 1809. When eight years of age emigrated with his 
father to Indiana, and at twenty-one moved to Illinois. Received the 
rudiments of education at public school, but was in the main self edu- 
cated. Was a volunteer captain in the Black Hawk Indian war. In 1834 
was elected to the Illinois Legislature, and re-elected in 1836, 1838 and 
1840. Was admitted to the bar in 1836, and established his home in 
Springfield. In 1846 was elected to Congress as a Whig, but joined the 
Republican party in 1856. In 1858, contested with Stephen A. Doug- 
lass in a series of joint debates, in public, for a nomination to a seat in 
the U. S. Senate. These debates attracted close attention all over the 
Union ; and, though Douglas won the Senatorial toga, Lincoln won 
thereby the nomination of the Republican party to the Pres- 
idency at Chicago May 16, i860, and was elected. In his 

42 



PATRIOTISM. 

with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the 
right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in ; to bind up the Nation's wounds, to care for him who 
shill have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphans— to do all which may achieve and cherish 
a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. — Abraham Lincoln. 

Let reverence of the Law be breathed by every mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap ; let 
it be taught in schools, seminaries and colleges ; let it be written in primers, spelling books and alman- 
acs : let it be preached from pulpits and proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice ; 
in short, let it become the political religion of the Nation. — Idem. 



W 




( REDUCED FROM 22x24 INCHES.) 



Let us, on the threshold of a new century, charged as we are with the maintenance in our day and 
generation, of the integrity of our government, pledge ourselves to labor, each in his own sphere, for the 
revival of pure and simple patriotism, and for the increase of that unselfish love of our entire country in 
which our safety lies — Grover Cleveland. 

We have been moving in untried paths, but our steps have been guided by honor and duty There 
will be no turning aside, no wavering, no retreat.— William McKinley. 

We now, almost for the first time in our history, know no North, no South, no East, no West ; but are 
all for a Common Country.— Idem. 



inaugural address, March 4, 1861, he declared his purpose to 
preserve the Union and put down secession by force of arms 
if necessary. On January i, 1863, he emancipated the slaves, in cer- 
tain districts then in insurrection — a measure which was then deemed a 
necessity of war, but which was confirmed by Constitutional Amend- 
ment after his death. Re-elected in 1864, he lived to felicitate the Na- 
tion upon Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865. In the evening of April 14, 
1865, he was assassinated in Ford's theatre, Washington, D. C, by 
John Wilkes Booth, and died the morning following. He was the first 
of our martyred Presidents. 

William Henry Seward ; born in Florida, Orange county', N.Y., 
May 16, 180 1 ; died at Auburn, N. Y., October 10, 1872 ; graduated at 
Union College in 1820; admitted to the bar in 1822, and at once com- 
menced the practice of his profession at Auburn, where he resided till 
death. Entered politics m 1824. In 1828, was chairman of a conven- 
tion held in New York city called to promote the re-election of John 
Quincy Adams to the presidency'. In 1830, was elected to the State 
Senate as an "anti-mason." In 1834, was nominated for Governor of 
the State of New York by the Whig party, but was defeated by William 
L. Marcy. In 1838 he defeated Marcy for the same office by a large ma- 
jority. Was re-elected in 1840. Retiring from office in 1843, he re- 
sumed the practice of law at Auburn. In 1844 he was an ardent advo- 
cate for the election of Henry Clay to the presidency, and in 1848 
favored General Taylor for the same office. In February, 1849, was 
chosen United States Senator, and in that body soon became the leader 
of the administration's party. Was re-elected to the Senate in 1855. 
In the presidential campaign of 1856, he was active in canvassing for 
the election of John C. Fremont, the candidate of the Republican party 
for President. In i860 he was the choice of a large number of delegates 
for the Republican nomination for the presidenc}', which was given to 
Abraham Lincoln — the first ballot standing 173 for Seward to 102 for 
Lincoln, necessary for a choice 233. Mr. Seward canvassed the West- 
ern States in Lincoln's behalf. Upon Lincoln's election, he appointed 
Seward Secretary of State, and on March 4, 1861, assumed the duties of 
that office, and continued therein till 1869. In 1865 he was thrown 
from his carriage, his jaw and one arm being broken. While confined 
to his room by these injuries, and on the night of April 14th, he was 
attacked by an assassin and stabbed several times. The assassin 
escaped, but was soon captured, tried, and hanged, with other fellow- 

43 



conspirators for the murder of President Lincoln. On recovering from 
these wounds, he resumed his duties of Secretary of State under Presi- 
dent Johnson. In March, 1869, he retired to private life. In 1870- '71, 
with his family, he made a tour of the world, and everywhere was 
received and entertained with marked favor and distinction. The pur- 
chase of Alaska from Russia was made in 1867, during his secretary-ship 
and chiefly through his efforts. As Secretary of State his duties were 
more arduous and difficult than were undertaken by any of his prede- 
cessors, and he performed the same with singular and signal ability and 
distinction. In his eventful career to every duty "He Was Faith- 

FUI. ! " 

Charles Sumner; born in Boston, Mass., January 6, 1811 ; died 
at Washington, D.C., March 11, 1874. Graduated from Harvard College, 
1830. Was admitted to the Bar in 1834. During the three j'ears follow- 
ing was a lecturer in Harvard Law School. Then spent three years in 
European travel. On return, began practice of law. In 1851 was 
chosen a United States Senator from Massachusetts, and held that ex- 
alted honor continuously to the time of his death. He was especially 
noted for his speeches against slavery, to which he was all his life 
an uncompromising foe. On account of one of his speeches he 
was assaulted in the Senate chamber by Preston S. Brooks, a Represen- 
tative from South Carolina, and from the effects of that assault he never 
fully recovered. When the Republican party secured control of the 
Senate, in 1861, he became chairman of the Committee on Foreign Re- 
lations — which, during the Civil war, was one of the most important ; 
he was, however, removed from that post at the instance, it is said, of 
the Administration powers, and thenceforward was not in harmony 
with the general policy of the Republican party (which he had helped to 
organize) during the last few years of his life. He was an orator of 
great ability, and he was famed for his scholarship. He was a promi- 
nent figure in the impeachment of President Johnson, and was conspic- 
uous in the Reconstruction of the States after the Rebellion. 

Alexander Hamilton Stephens ; born in Wilkes ( now Talia- 
ferror) County, Ga., February 11, 1812 ; died at Atlanta, Ga., March 4, 
1883. Graduated from the University of Georgia. Was a lawyer by 
profession ; was a member of the Georgia Legislature; was a member 
of Congress from 1843 to 1859, inclusively, as a Whig. When that 
party ceased to exist he joined the Democratic party. Was opposed to 

44 



secession and rebellion, and in the convention called in his native state 
to decide upon the question of secession, he made a remarkable speech, 
predicting the dire results that followed in "The war between the 
States," as he termed it, in his history thereof. Nevertheless, when 
his state decided to join the Confederacy, he cast his lot in that cause, 
and was made vice-president of "The Confederate States of America." 
He was elected as a Senator of the United States from Georgia, 
after the war ended, but was not permitted to take his 
seat. In 1877 he was elected to the House of Representa- 
tives, and held a seat therein continuously till 1882, when he 
resigned to become Governor of his Stale. Upon his election to the 
vice-presidency of the Confederate States, he made an address in public 
which is known as the " Corner-stone Speech, " in the course of which 
he was reported to have said this: "The United States government 
was founded on the fundamentally wrong assumption of the equality of 
races " ; and, in reference to the Confederac}-, that "our government is 
founded upon exactly opposite ideas. Its foundations are laid, its 
corner stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not the equal 
of the white man ; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is 
his natural and normal condition." 

Ulysses Simpson Grant; born at Mount Pleasant, Clermont Co., 
Ohio, April 27, 1822; died at Mount McGregor, near Saratoga, N. Y., 
July 23, 1885. Owing to an error on the part of the congressman who 
appointed him to a cadetship at West Point, his name, originally Hiram 
Ulysses, was entered there as Ulysses S., and he has ever since been so 
known. Graduated at "West Point in 1840. Served with distinction in 
the war with Mexico. In 1854 he resigned his commission as captain 
in the regular army, and engaged in business. When the Civil 
war began he raised a company of volunteers and engaged 
in active service. Was rapidly promoted from rank to rank 
till in 1862 he was commissioned a Major General of Volun- 
teers. On July 4, 1863, he was made Major General in the 
regular army; on March 2, 1864, Lieutenant General, and July 25, 1866, 
General of the Army. The crowning event of his great military career 
was the surrender of General Lee to him at Appomatox, April 9, 1865, 
which practically ended the war of the Rebellion. For a short time he 
was Secretary of War, ad ititerim, under President Johnson. In 1868, 
he received the nomination of the Republican party to the Presidency, 
and was elected to that office, his opponent being Horatio Seymour, 

45 



ex-Governor of the State of New York. Was re-elected in 1872 against 
Horace Greeley, receiving the largest popular vote ever given to any 
candidate for the oflfice. After the expiration of his second term he 
made a tour of the world, and received marked and distinguished hon- 
ors everywhere. In 1880 a strong effort was made to again nominate 
him to the Presidency in the Republican convention at Chicago, but 
was defeated. His enthusiastic supporters in that convention, to the 
number of three hundred and six, led by Roscoe Conklin, acquired the 
name of "Stalwarts" and "The Old Guard." The principal events of 
his administration were the completion of the railroads which connected 
the Atlantic with the Pacific ; the settlement by arbitration of the Ala- 
bama claims, whereby Great Britain paid some fifteen millions of 
dollars to the United States, for injuries inflicted upon our commerce 
by cruisers which she permitted to be fitted out in her ports during the 
Civil war. 

James Abram Garfield ; born in Orange, Cuyahoga Co., Ohio, 
Nov. 19, 1831 ; died at Elberon, N. J., September 19, 1881. At an early 
age was compelled to earn a living by hard manual labor, but by stren- 
uous efforts and diligent pursuit of his studies he fitted himself to enter 
and graduate from Williams College, studied law, and was admitted 
to practice. In 1859 and i860 he was a member of the Ohio Senate. In 
186 1 he enlisted in the Union army, and rose by several commissions 
to the rank of Major General. In 1862 he was elected a member of 
Congress and served in that body continuously till 1881. In 1880 he 
was elected United States Senator from Ohio, but before taking his seat 
in that body, was nominated to the presidency by the Republican par- 
ty, and elected, his opponent being General Winfield Scott Hancock. 
Was inaugurated President March 4, 1881. On July 2, 1881, he was 
shot by an assassin in the B. & P. railroad depot in Washington, and 
died from the effects of that shot on the date above stated. He was 
the second President of the United States to die by an assassin's hand. 

James G. Blaine, " The Plumed Knight. Born in Washington 
county, Pennsylvania, in 1830. Educated at Washington College 
in that state. Emigrated to the State of Maine and became 
editor of a newspaper in Portland and in Kennebec. Was 
elected member of the Maine Legislature, 1859 to 1862, and 
was Speaker of that body. In the year last mentioned was elected to 
Congress, wherein he continued till 1876. In this year he was appoint- 
ed United States Senator from Maine, and served as such till 1881. 

46 



From 1869 to 1875, inclusively, he was Speaker of the House of Repre- 
sentatives. Was one of the leaders, if not the leader, of the Republican 
party in that body, after the death of Thaddeus Stevens. Was a popu- 
lar candidate for the Republican nomination to the Presidency in 1876. 
In 1 88 1 was appointed Secretary of State by President Garfield, but re- 
signed soon after the death of his chief, which occurred Sept. 19, 1881. 
Was the Republican candidate for the presidency in 1884, but was 
defeated at the polls by Grover Cleveland. Was the popular choice of 
his party in 1888 for the nomination to the Presidency, but declined. 
He had many supporters for that honor in 1892. He died at Washing- 
ton, D. C, January 31, 1893. 

Grover Cleveland; born in Caldwell, Essex Co., N. J., March 
18, 1837. Received common school education, supplemented by diligent 
study and reading, the while he was contending with the sterner tasks 
of life. Was admitted to the Bar in 1859, and practised his profession 
in Buffalo, N. Y. Was District Attorney of Erie county, N. Y., 1863 
to 1866. Defeated for re-election to that office, he practiced law till he 
was elected Sheriff of that county. In 1881 he was elected Mayor of 
Buffalo as a Democrat. In 1882 was elected Governor by a plurality, 
over Judge Folger (Republican), of more than 190,000. Nominated to 
the presidency by the Democratic party in 1884, he was elected, defeat- 
ing James G. Blaine. Renominated in 1888, he was defeated by Ben- 
jamin Harrison; but, in 1892, he was again the nominee of the Demo- 
cratic party, and was elected over Harrison as chief magistrate of the 
nation. Upon the expiration of his term of ofiice March 4, 1897, he 
established his residence at Princeton, N. J., where he now resides 
(1903)- 

John Sherman ; born in Lancaster, Ohio, May 10, 1823 ; received 
academic education ; was admitted to the bar at the age of twenty ; 
was a delegate to the National Whig convention of 1848 and 
1852. Helped to organize the Republican party in 1856. 
Was chairman of the first convention of that party held in his native 
State. Was member of Congress March 4, 1855, to March, 1861, and 
was the choice of his party associates for Speaker in 1859-60. Succeed- 
ed Salmon P. Chase in the United States Senate in 1861, and was re- 
elected in 1866 and 1872. Was Secretary of the Treasury, under Presi- 
dent Hayes, 1877 to 1881. Under his management of the Treasury, the 
National debt was refunded, and the resumption of specie payments 

47 



took place in 1879. On March 4th, of this year, was again a Senator 
of the United States, and was re-elected in 1886 and 1892. Was a prom- 
inent candidate for the presidential nomination in several national con- 
ventions of his party. On March 4, 1897, he was made Secretary of 
State by President McKinley, but on account of advanced age he re- 
signed soon after the war with Spain began, in Maj', 1898, and retired 
to private life. He died at Washington, D. C, October 22, 1900. 

William McKinley ; born at Niles, Ohio, Januarj- 29, 1843. 
When eighteen years of age, and while attending an academy, he en- 
listed as a private in the 23d regiment of infantrj', Ohio Volunteers, for 
service in the Civil war. Rose to the rank of Major by meritorious 
service and conspicuous bravery. After the war, studied law at the 
Albany law school (N. Y.) ; practiced his profession in his native State. 
Was District Attorney 1869-71 of Stark county, Ohio. From 1871 to 
1891, he was a member of Congress, excepting a brief interval. Was 
chairman of the Ways and Means committee of the House of Repre- 
sentatives during his last two years in that body, and as such reported 
the tariff bill which was known by his name. In 1890, was elected 
Governor of Ohio, and was re-elected in 1892. Was chairman of the 
Republican national convention in 1892 that re-nominated Benjamin 
Harrison to the presidency ; and in 1896 himself received that honor, 
and was elected by the largest popular majority ever given to any can- 
didate, excepting General Grant, in 1872. During his first term, the 
war with Spain was begun, and ended speedily with signal victories to 
our arms, whereby this nation gave freedom to Cuba and acquired ex- 
tensive territorial possessions in the West Indies and in the Philippines. 
Mr. McKinley was re-elected by an enormous majority of the popular 
vote in 1890. While a visitor at the Pan-American Exposition in 
BuflFalo, N. Y., September 6, 1901, he was shot by an avowed anarchist, 
and died from the effects thereof at the home of Hon. John G. Milburn, 
Buffalo, September 14, 1901. His remains were interred at Canton, 
Ohio. He was the third of our Presidents to die a martyr's death.. 

'• His life was g-entle, and the elements 

So mixed in him that Nature might stand up 

And sav to all the world ' This was a man ! ' " 



" We are not a nation of hero worshipers. We are a nation 
of generous freemen. We bow in affectionate reverence and with 
most grateful hearts to those immortal names * * * * and will 
guard with sleepless vigilance their mighty work, and cherish 
their memories evermore —William McKinley. 

48 



•They Were the Luster Lights of Their Day, 
The * * * * * * Giants 

Who Ci,ave the Darkness Asunder 
And Beaconed Us Where We Are !" 



THE FLAG OF THE REPUBLIC. 

" Long may it wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ! " 

There is the national flag ! He must be cold, indeed, who can look 
upon its folds rippling in the breeze without pride of country. If he be 
in a foreign land, the flag is companionship and country itself, with all 
its endearments. Who, as he sees it, can think of a state merely ? 
Whose eye once fastened upon its radiant trophies can fail to recog- 
nize the image of the whole nation ? It has been called a "floating 
piece of poetry " ; and yet I know not if it has any intrinsic beauty 
beyond other ensigns. Its highest beauty is in what it symbolizes. It 
is because it represents all, that all gaze at it with delight and rever- 
ence. It is a piece of bunting lifted in the air ; but it speaks sublimely 
and every part has a voice. Its stripes, of alternate red and white pro- 
claim the original union of thirteen states to maintain the Declaration 
of Independence. Its stars, white on a field of blue, proclaim that 
union of states, constituting our national constellation, which receives 
a new star with every new state. The two together signify Union, 
past and present. The very colors have a language, which v.-as oflicialiy 
recognized by our fathers. White is for purity, red for valor, blue for 
justice ; and all together— bunting, stripes, stars, and colors blazing in 
the sky — make the flag of our country to be cherished by all our hearts, 
to be upheld by all our hands. — Charles Sumner. 



49 



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